and adopt uniform standards throughout the country irrespective of the network of roads. This has been in existence and very instrumental in surface transport systems. This forum conducts annua

t promotes type designs of bridges and other drainage structures, bypasses, and roundabouts. It may be mentioned that some of the other countries started following IRC standards with modifications but some countries adopt the same regulations as we have. The government delegates are selected by their controlling officers. Generally, it's thought to be a useful program for the younger engineers. But most of the participants are on the verge of retirement. This is because the senior engineers, especially if they've not attended any of the earlier meetings, want to have an experience in getting together with their counterparts elsewhere in India. Most of them could be seen in groups like one division or one family. In Tamil Nadu alone the senior engineers in service don't prefer to take their family members on the IRC tr

u haven't atte

s righ

r's assembly of IRC to be held i

e enough to take part because you're th

he government is providi

IRC program was scheduled for the first week of January. The establishment section was busy sending the list of participants to

g and afternoon sessions. One day for commutation and e

nd down trips. I wasn't included in the list. That means I had to raise funds

ction me a travelling allowance advance of one thousand rupees. And

ted him to arrange for the bill and clearance in the treasury on the same day as the treasury was within the campus of our offic

ight leaving on Monday morning at 1

don't go

stant engineer. I'd take a flight when I move t

ed the clerk over the intercom. On seeing the clerk, the superintending engineer said: "Mi

there's no precedence that an assistant e

nt procedures. It's time we changed them. Book the assistant engineer a ticket in the

ked the superintending engineer. "Sir you've taken p

u anything special. I would've done the same thing even if it were someone else i

the office, I managed to raise a loan from my friends and bought two pairs of new dresses; then sorted out the best two pairs from my wardrobe. One thing was missing, yes the necktie; I bought a new one and got ready the pair of shoes. With polishing, the shoes looked almost new. Everything was well arranged for the trip and I got permission from the office also. O

t number, a familiar voice called out:

artment. There're five chief engineers officiating in our department in various discipline

enough to catch younger people to attend the t

aid: "You must be in flight for the first time?" I nodded. He got up from his seat and thrust me into the window seat and sat beside m

g our office in Chepauk. He was a special chief engineer and his office was in a different locality

s there're about three hundred people confined in that flight. I felt discomfort as the nearby passengers watched us in conversation. I always replied in a muffled voice to the queries addressed to me by the chief engineer. Shortly there came an air hostess. She brought toffees, tea, and biscuits in a tray. Other passengers kept their trays ready. I was wondering wherefrom they brought the tray.

y. He'll love them for they're specially made f

f toffees on the tray. The chief engineer then took

sumed most of the travel time. When we alighted the flight, there were volun

row. The chief engineer and I occupied the same room as we've made friends now. After lunch that's ar

nd vegetarian items like rice, briyani, butter naan, and bountiful ice creams all in a buffet system. There're northern and southern food preparations. There was a break and tea was served with snacks at 3 pm. Usually, the afternoon sessions were devoted for field visits. They had arranged for luxury coaches to commute to different places and they picked and dropped the delegates at their lodging places. After field visits, the evening was marked with a cu

perfection in the display are still a matter of honor to the ancient Indians. The delegates enjoyed the boat rides in Hussain Sagar Lake. On Thursday evening there was the dance performance by Ms.Uma Rao, the world-renowned danseuse. She danced on the brass plates while performing several handiworks and bodily positions. The lady deserves and she's an exponent of Bharat natyam. One evening we had been to Hyderabad pearl bazaar. It's a tremendous site to see different sizes of pearls and stones selling there. Some of the necklaces of beads and pearls are priced at some thousands of rupees. Some of our senior engineers had a tough time to conduct their womenfolk out of the bazaar. Similarly, there're shops selling bangles. The bangles are made out of lac, plastic, metal, and porcelain. The costlier ones are decorated with

red if I had attended an IRC meeting or not. But it's his aberration and that I was th