The ICID Congress is the flagship triennial event aimed to deliberate and develop solutions for the concurrent global issues in the sector. On account of the initiatives taken by INCID and support from Andhra Pradesh Govt, the ICID international Congress has returned to India after a gap of about 6 decades.
The 25th Congress of the International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage (ICID) and the 75th International Executive Council (IEC) Meeting of ICID are scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (India) during 6-13 November 2023 under the aegis of Indian National Committee on Irrigation & Drainage (INCID), with the active support of CWC, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur (AP) and ICID.
The approval for holding the 25th Congress and 75th IEC at Vizag in November 2023 was accorded in 72nd IEC Meeting and 5th African Regional Conference, Marrakech, Morocco 2021.
The Congress and other events at Vizag are expected to have around 1200+ participants from all around the globe.
In this regard, Sh. Kushvinder Vohra, Member (WP&P), CWC and Sh. Rishi Srivastava, Director (Remote Sensing), CWC from INCID and Dr. K. Yella Reddy, Hon. Vice President ICID and Dean, ANGRA University, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh visited Vishakhapatnam during 8-10 March, 2022 to see / assess the facilities available at various venues in Vizag to manage different events i.e. Congress, 7-8 parallel IEC meetings, 3-4 permanent committees meetings in parallel, 3-4 Working Groups meetings in parallel, office space, and exhibition space etc. and also to discuss the other modalities with A.P. Govt. officers. Based on the assessment of the available venues/facilities, the Radisson Blue Resort has been shortlisted as the event for the venue. The Visit report may be accessed here.
An Organizing Committee was constituted in April, 2022 to oversee the planning & management of the various aspects related to the organization of the 25th Congress and the 75th International Executive Council (IEC) Meeting of ICID. The Organizing Committee is also mandated to take care of the Financial Planning and Management of the event to ensure smooth conduct of the event.
Keeping in view the above, the then Ministry of Works, Mines and Power, Government of India vide letter No.DW.2156/48 dated 27 May 1948,with the approval from the Priorities Committee of the Cabinet, sanctioned the proposal to establish an International Commission on Irrigation and Canals (ICIC) with its headquarters in India and nominated the Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) to take the initiative further, negotiate with various countries having experience in irrigation and act as the National Committee for India.This was followed up by the Central Board of Irrigation and Power. Accordingly, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs invited 47 countries through diplomatic channels to join the proposed ICIC.
The first meeting of the Organizing Committee was held online in two parts due to office exigencies, on 28th April 2022 and 10th May 2022. Detailed deliberation were held on various aspects related to venue finalization for the events, the preparation of the detailed schedule, Theme (Questions) of the event, second visit to Vizag and organization of the INCID Curtain Raiser event during the ICID and INCID Foundation day on 24th June 2022. The Committee
deliberated upon the need for brainstorming at appropriate levels in CWC in conjunction with the ICID officials for the finalization of the Theme, Questions, and Sub-Questions for the 25th Congress. The scope of involving the expertise of WAPCOS for the professional management of the event was discussed with the representative from WAPCOS. Other preparatory works including the creation of INCID Website, INCID Logo and the next visit to Vizag to pencil-book the venue and identify & finalize other logistics were also discussed by the Committee.
The Theme for the ICID Congress is finalised by the host National Committee in coordination with ICID. The ICID Congress, with the aim to deliberate and develop solutions for the concurrent global issues in the field of irrigation drainage, entails the presentation of technical papers and posters by researchers, technical professionals, academia etc. as an attempt to find answers to two thematic Questions. Each thematic question will have 3 sub-questions, totalling to 6 sub-questions for the Congress.
The details of these Questions (Question 64 & 65) and the tentative topics for the Seminar and Symposium for the 25th ICID Congress are as under:
National policies for safe re-use of waste water in irrigation
Topic for Symposium: Tackling Climate Change – Role of storages for irrigation
During the 73rd Foundation day celebrations of ICID and INCID held on 24th June 2022, aCurtain Raiser Programme was organized which marked the official launch of the run-up to the 25th Congress and 75th IEC of ICID.
Sh. Kushvinder Vohra, Member (WP&P, CWC) and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 25th ICID Congress appraised the audience about the background, initiatives and the recent developments pertaining to INCID. Sh. K Y Reddy, Hon’ble Vice President (ICID) and Dean, ANGRA University, Guntur, AP presented the status of the preparation for the upcoming ICID event in India.
The official Website of the 25th Congress along with Event Logo and the First Announcement were also released during the session. The Messages (on 25th ICID Congress) from Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Secretary, DoWR&GR were also displayed.The First Announcement/ Brochure for the 25th Congress may be accessed here.
A team of Officials from CWC, INCID, WAPCOS, ICID, State Govt of Andhra Pradesh and Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (Guntur), Andhra Pradesh visited Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from 9th to 11th August 2022 for discussions regarding programme, modalities, venue, facilities, logistics, and other details, along with the visit to the nearby places/irrigation structures from the point of view of study tour etc. for the delegates during/after the event.The Radisson Blue Resorthas been finalised as the venue for the 25th ICID Congress & 75th IEC meeting
