The seventh Civil Engineering Exhibition-cum-competition kicked off at Pulchowk Engineering Campus on Monday with the theme ‘Rebuilding a Nation through Engineering.’ The event is being organised by the Civil Engineering Student’s Society Nepal in association with the Department of Civil Engineering.

The exhibition hosts a total of 35 stalls, which include various gaming zones, and prototypes of earthquake resistance buildings—such as rural house models, carbon fibre arch bridge, stone masonry buildings, levitation foundation models, reservoir-induced seismicity—designed by amateur engineers. Another attraction of the programme is various competitions such as civil model competition, conference mix design competition, software competition, be-quid competition, photography competitions and food stalls. The first day of the three-day-long event saw a massive turnout of students, and engineering enthusiasts—totaling over 5,000; and students from various engineering colleges in the Valley showcased their innovations.

“This year, the main focus of the gala is re-construction and rebuilding...In the years that preceded, we focused on irrigation, hydro-electricity and development. But due to the April 25 earthquake, we realised that our focus should be on safe-housing, hence, we are focused on making earthquake resistant buildings and showcasing our work,” said Umang Bhattarai, coordinator of the gala.

Raj Lamichhane, marketing co-ordinator of the gala, predicts that over 50,000 visitors will be attending the exhibit.

Speaking to the Post, one of the visitors, Akash Bajagain, an agriculture student from Rampur, said: “The exhibition is very informative... I came to know about the types of houses that should be made in different landscape in order to make them quake-resistant.This exhibition is beneficial to each and every household who suffered from the massive earthquakes.”