New Delhi: Prof. Manoranjan Parida, the Director of the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi, has been elected as the President of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) during the organization’s Annual Session held in Raipur on November 11. IRC, the largest professional body for highway engineers in India, focuses on developing and improving highway infrastructure, including highways, bridges, and tunnels.
A distinguished academician and an alumnus of UCE Burla (now VSSUT), Prof. Parida has made remarkable contributions to the field of highway engineering. Before joining CRRI, he served as the Deputy Director at IIT Roorkee and held the MoRTH Chair Professor position for the Development of Highway Systems in India at the same institute from 2013 to 2017. He is credited with the design and development of noise barriers for flyovers in Delhi, an innovative project that has contributed significantly to urban infrastructure.
Prof. Parida’s expertise extends beyond academia; he has played a pivotal role in road infrastructure projects across India. He provided critical inputs for the third-party quality audit of 1,700 km of State Highways in Bihar under the RSVY Project from 2007 to 2013. His consultancy work spans over 350 urban road infrastructure projects, rural roads, expressways, and intercity corridors.
As Director of CRRI, Prof. Parida spearheaded several groundbreaking initiatives, including the development of Steel Slag Road Technology, AI-based road safety solutions for Nagpur (iRASTE), and third-party quality evaluation of the Dwarka Expressway. His efforts also include promoting the use of industrial waste in road construction and providing solutions for road infrastructure in border areas.
Prof. Parida’s contributions to the field have been widely recognized. He was awarded the Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award by the Indian Roads Congress in 2004, and he has also received the Outstanding Teacher Award from IIT Roorkee. Currently, he is the Convener of the Urban Roads & Streets Committee (H-8) of IRC and the PCD6 Committee on Bitumen, Tar & Other Products of the Bureau of Indian Standards.