“Green Visionary” of India Dr. Prem C. Jain passes away
New Delhi : Dr. Prem C. Jain, famous for decades of service to the environment, earning him a reputation as a “green visionary” has passed away on early Thursday. He was aged 82 years.
Dr. Jain has served as adviser to the President and to the Prime Minister of India; has chaired the International Green Building Congress in Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai from 2006 to 2011; and since 2007, has chaired the Indian Green Building Council. He founded the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers in 1980, and the India Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers in 1989. He also rewrote the section on air conditioning, heating and ventilation for the National Building Code of India-NBC 2005, bringing it up to the international level of codes, standards and practices.
Dr Jain who had a master’s degree and a doctorate in mechanical engineering. Upon returning to India in 1970 after post-graduate studies in the U.S., he served as a visiting professor at IIT Kanpur, where he taught post-graduate studies and set up a laboratory for environmental engineering. He has also been on the visiting faculty for the School of Planning and Architecture at Delhi University since 1973.He is known as the most admired teacher par excellence. He has been awarded the best visiting faculty award in 1990.
In addition to his academic accomplishments, Dr Jain was a business entrepreneur, founding Spectral Services Consultants Private Limited (now an AECOM company) in 1980 with the mission of providing energy-efficient, fire safe, fully-coordinated Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing (MEP) services design for all varieties of planned buildings in India. The firm grew from four employees to a staff of more than 600 in 10 offices.
His name is synonymous with the science of air-conditioning and he is known as one of the most outstanding consulting engineers with design experience spanning more than 45 years. He was a Member of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME-USA), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA-USA), Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES-USA), International Solar Energy Society (ISES-GERMANY) and Consulting Engineers Association of India (CEAI-India). He has been listed in Marquis 'Who's Who in the World' from 1997 and in Marquis 'Who's Who in Science & Engineering' since 2000. He has also featured in Baron's 'Who's Who (USA)', 'The Asia 500 Leaders for the New Century' published in the USA in 2000, and in Marquis 'Who's Who in Asia' 1997. Furthermore, he has been honoured with the Rashtriya Gaurav Award at the All India Achievers' Conference in 1997. For his special merits and numerous contributions to the society, he was awarded ASHRAE's highest honour - Louise and Bill Holladay 'Distinguished Fellow' award. He is the Fellow of a large number of International Societies, namely, Institute of Refrigeration (IR-London), Institution of Engineers (IE-India), Institution of Energy Engineers (IEE India) and Indian Society of Lighting Engineers (ISLE-India).
Syed Mohamed Beary, Chairman of IGBC Bengaluru Chapter and Bearys Group has expressed shock over the demise of Dr Prem Jain. He said " Dr Jain was
the most respected Green Building figure in Asia . With his passing away, the green building movement of India has been orphaned. Now the rest of us have to work so much more harder in his absence to make his dreams to make Bharat as the world leader in green buildings".
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Punjab: Blast near army cantt area in Amritsar, hours after explosion in Jalandhar
Chandigarh (PTI): An explosion occurred near the army cantonment area in Khasa late Tuesday night in Punjab's Amritsar, the second such incident which took place around three hours after a blast outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar.
According to the police, an investigation into both blast incidents is currently underway, and no injuries have been reported.
The first explosion happened around 8 pm in Jalandhar, while the second blast occurred at approximately 11 pm in Amritsar.
Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim stated that police received reports of a loud sound at around 11 pm on a road in Khasa. "Our teams arrived on the scene immediately," he said.
Preliminary inspections indicated that someone had thrown an explosive device towards the boundary wall, leading to the explosion, according to the SSP.
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Police mentioned that a piece of a tin sheet covering the boundary wall had fallen as a result of the blast.
Following the explosion, a team of forensic and bomb disposal squad visited the site to collect samples.
Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya S. Warrier, who also visited the scene, confirmed that further investigations are ongoing. Police added that a team of army officials also assessed the situation, after which the area was cordoned off.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows the explosion occurring at night. A local villager reported that his family was awakened by the loud sound and came outside their home to see what had happened.
Before the Amritsar explosion, a blast took place outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar district around 8 pm on Tuesday, causing panic in the area.
CCTV footage captured the explosion, which resulted in a cloud of smoke. An unidentified man was seen running for cover following the blast.
The blast ripped apart a scooter, damaged a traffic signal pole and windowpanes of a nearby shop. Locals recounted that the scooter, which was parked outside the BSF headquarters, Punjab Frontier, caught fire shortly after a loud sound. It belonged to Gurpreet Singh, who regularly delivers parcels in the area.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday night, one of Gurpreet's relatives said that the scooter caught fire as he was approaching it. He immediately called his father and informed him about the incident.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed to reporters late Tuesday that an Activa scooter parked near the gate caught fire suddenly. She stated that Gurpreet is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud sound following the explosion.
On April 27, an explosion occurred at a freight corridor rail track in Shambhu in Patiala. Police had arrested four members of a pro-Khalistan terror module, backed by Pakistan's ISI, for the blast.
In light of these incidents, opposition parties have condemned the AAP government for its handling of the situation.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, over the recent blasts.
"Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day, May 5: Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, April 27: Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and the collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern. Chief Minister @BhagwantMann, who is also the state Home Minister, is busy with mimicry and cheap politics. He has forfeited the right to remain in office," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also slammed the Mann government over the two blasts.
"Back-to-back blasts have shaken Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near Khasa Camp in Amritsar, this is deeply alarming. Who is trying to destabilise our state? Why has the Punjab Government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the Government of India doing? Repeated lapses point to a serious breakdown of intelligence and security. Punjab's peace cannot be compromised. We demand accountability and immediate action," Warring said in a post on X.
