IIT Kharagpur and Indiana University will soon study the shrinking Kolkata wetlands

The Department of Geography and Regional Planning, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Department of Architecture and Regional planning IIT Kharagpur, have come together and collaborated for the Summer Study Abroad Programme India, 2017.

The wetlands of Kolkata, a Ramsar site, which are gradually shrinking in size have come under the focus of a study by the joint team.

About the study

The study will be concentrating on the increasing presence of non bio degradable chemicals in the water of wetlands. The IIT Kharagpur spokesperson said on Tuesday, “Our joint study will deliberate on what should be the role of urban planners in a metropolitan city like Kolkata.”

Aim of the study :

• Make people aware of how the East Kolkata Wetlands can be effectively used as resources for urban life

• To combine the strength of IIT and IUP and expose students of both countries to a cross cultural and cross dimensional scenario, for understanding the urban dynamism and challenges faced by planners from a regional perspective

• Study will deliberate on what should be the role of urban planners in a metropolitan city like Kolkata

• To develop inquisitiveness and passion for research and an attitude toward creative problem solving in urban planning through the practical training or the field study component

• To promote research and learning in areas like regional planning, urbanisation, environmental justification, and sustainable urban communities and cities through a rigorous, integrated and interdisciplinary approach

Sovan Chatterjee West Bengal Environment Minister and chairperson of East Kolkata Wetlands Development Authority said during Environment day function on June 5, “The government was committed to maintaining ‘the crucial balance in ecology.'”