Mr. Sabarna Roy, Senior Vice President
Electrosteel Castings Limited
Mr Sabarna Roy, Senior Vice President of Electrosteel Casting Limited is a multi-faceted personality. Besides being a trained civil engineer, he is a successful author having won many awards, an eloquent speaker and a passionate environmentalist. In an interview with Water Digest, he spoke about the use of Restrained Jointed Ductile Iron pipes and the Government’s Jal Shakti Abhiyan initiative.
Water Digest (WD): What are the upcoming projects and initiatives of Electrosteel Castings Limited?
Sabarna Roy (SR): The initiatives taken up by Electrosteel Castings Limited on project basis are as follows:
We have come up with an initiative to use Restrained Jointed Ductile Iron pipes and fittings in place of thrust blocks and anchor blocks wherever there is a change in the direction of the conveyed fluid and sudden change in the cross-sectional area of flow and at a blanked end. In areaswhere the bearing capacity of soil is poor, and construction of thrust blocks/anchor blocks could be very, very problematic as this might entail construction of mammoth thrust blocks/anchor blocks, Restrained Jointed Ductile Iron pipes and fittings at the requisite locations entirely do away with the construction of mammoth thrust blocks/anchor blocks. This leads to economy and faster installation.
With the increase in urbanisation, it has become necessary to lay pipelines without disturbing the urban infrastructure (pedestrian, road & rail networks, etc.), and therefore trenchless laying is becoming a necessity. Ductile Iron Double Chambered Restrained Joint pipes (DI) are being used for trenchless laying by Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD); the great qualities of ruggedness, durability, and dependability make Ductile Iron pipes the choice for water systems, also making them suitable for trenchless laying technology.
With so many years of practice, we recommend the use of Life Cycle Cost Analysis method while designing any particular project. It is very essential to account for life cycle cost of a project to arrive at the most suitable, economical and sustainable outcome.
WD: You were recently awarded for Excellence in Indian literature. Please share about your journey so far and your success mantra?
SR: I am a trained Civil Engineer and graduate with a first-class Honours degree from Jadavpur University in 1988. I am presently working as Senior Vice President and am in the 26th year of my employment with Electrosteel Group.
I am engaged in giving leadership to Business Development, Applications Technology and certain key strategies in the Electrosteel Group.
I have been visiting national and international conferences to talk on various matters concerning ecology and environment. I am a firm believer in the Paris Climate Accord and believe in lowering the carbon footprint in the industry to reverse climate change effects on the planet.
I am an active participant in the multifarious activities of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, Confederation of Indian Industries, Central Board of Irrigation and Power, Indian Geographical Committee of International Water Resources Association, Calcutta Business School, Engage India, and JIS Group of Institutions.
I am an author of critically acclaimed bestselling literary fiction of seven published books– Pentacles; Frosted Glass; Abyss; Winter Poems; Random Subterranean Mosaic: 2012-2018; Etchings of the First Quarter of 2020, and Fractured Mosaic.
My literary works have been published by Leadstart Inkstate, Mumbai.
I have two technical books in my name (i) Articles on Ductile Iron Pipelines and Framework Agreement Methodology, and (ii) Technological Trends in Water Sector for a Sustainable Solution.
I am a Goodreads author with present rating of 4.05 with reviews and ratings in excess of 2,500 and on Amazon, I am rated between 4 and 5 with reviews and ratings in excess of 2,000.
I have been covered by all prestigious national and international media including The New York Guardian, Nigeria Tribune, Kathmandu Tribune, Financial Nigeria and The Guardian Post, and am on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabarna_Roy).
I was an invited to be a speaker on the opening day at the Noida International Literary Festival 2019 and as a panelist at the Tata Steel Literary Meet 2020 on the opening day at a session, which discussed the Dark Side of the Mind. I was the Guest of Honour at Aaveg 2021 Literature Festival at Lucknow. I was recently interviewed in the Bhava Samvad series of Kalinga Literature Festival. During the pandemic, I attended many literary meets, and discussions with institutions, on various video conferencing platforms.
I was awarded the Literoma Laureate Award in 2019, Literoma Star Achiever Award 2020, Random Subterranean Mosaic: 2012-2018won the best book of the year 2019, the A List Award for excellence in fiction by the NewsX Media House, Certificate for The Real Super Heroes for spreading a spirit of positivity and hope during the COVID-19 Pandemic from Forever Star India Award 2020, and the Certificate for Participation in the Indo Russian Friendship Celebration 2020, the Literoma Golden Star Award 2020: Lifetime Achievement, and the Certificate of Appreciation for featuring in the Hall of Fame of Literoma International Symposium on Literature & Festival 2020, and the Times Eminent Writer of the Year award by The Times of India Group in Kolkata in February 2021.
I am one of the winners of the Champions of Change 2020 Award given out by Interactive Forum on Indian Economy supported by Government of India.
I am one of the recipients of Economic Times News Makers 2021 (Eastern Region), Top 10 Most Influential Business Leaders of 2021 given out by Business World and ANI in association with the Indian Alert and Times Excellence Award 2021 in Indian Literature given out by the Times Group.
Very recently, my last literary work of mine, titled: Fractured Mosaic has been converted into an Amazon Audible book by the American elocutionist, Grant Tharp and released in the USA and UK markets. Earlier, my two more literary works, Pentacles and Winter Poems were converted into Amazon Audible books by the Australian jazz singer, Colin Newcomer. Perhaps, I am the first author from Eastern India whose book was converted into an Amazon Audible book way back in 2014.
By the end of this year, I am coming up with my eighth literary work: A Marriage, An Affair, and A Friendship, and my third technical book, titled: Emerging Environmental Technologies and Policies.
WD: Government has been working hard to preserve its water resources. Jal Shakti Abhiyan is probably the biggest campaign running in the country. What are your views on the same?
SR: The Jal Shakti Abhiyan was launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in 2019.
It is a fantastic campaign for water conservation and water security in the country through a collaborative effort of various ministries of the Government of India and state governments.
The focus of the campaign is on water stressed districts and blocks.
The important water conservation interventions are:
- Water conservation and rainwater harvesting
- Renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks
- Reuse of water and recharging of structures
- Watershed development and
- Intensive afforestation.
Last year, Jal Shakti Abhiyan covered 256 water-stressed districts across the country.
More than seventy-five lakh traditional and other water bodies and tanks were renovated and around a crore water conservation & rainwater harvesting structures were created. Jal Jeevan Mission, a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, aims to ensure access of piped water for every household in rural India.
Jal Jeevan Mission is based on various water conservation efforts like point recharge, desilting of minor irrigation tanks, use of greywater (wastewater from sinks, kitchen) for agriculture and source sustainability. It is an excellent initiative based on a community approach to water.
WD: What is your opinion on reducing wastewater burden which plays a key role in reducing the pollution load on rivers?
SR: I am delighted by the news from NMCG that Ganga’s quality has improved since 2014. The steps taken to improve the water quality include abatement and control of source pollution by establishment or upgradation of wastewater treatment plants for the towns located on Ganga main stem and its tributaries, construction of crematoria, surface cleaning activities, solid waste management on the riverbanks and floodplains and refraining trash from drains falling into river Ganga by installation of trash racks at the mouth of drains.
Such initiatives have started yielding results and the water quality of the river will further improve as more and more projects are commissioned.
WD: Please share recent initiatives by ECL for their employees in EUSR and CSCS cards, the gold standards of quality and hygiene.
SR: As we are a manufacturing company, our employees are not entitled to register for Energy & Utility Skills Register (EUSR) and Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS).
ECL has taken other initiatives in the fields of Health, Hygiene, Quality and Environment which are as follows:
- Occupational Health and Safety Management System as per ISO 45001 :2018.
- Energy Management System as per ISO 50001: 2011.
- Environment Management System and Hygiene as per ISO 14001: 2015.
WD: Would you like to share any message with our readers?
SR: The readers should exhibit a spirit of leadership amongst themselves and form a dedicated team for creating a healthy environment for continuous growth, profit, and prosperity.
