TAXILA, Oct 23: Punjab Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Khalid Maqbool on Tuesday stressed the need for continuity in policies to make the country economically and socially strong.

He was addressing the concluding session of a two-day conference on “Failure of Engineering Materials and Structures” at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila.

The governor called for establishment of a modern and well- equipped research centre so that the causes, reasons and remedies could be studied for any civil, mechanical or design failure.

He said that this centre would prove to be a centre of excellence for industry and academia and added that government was taking revolutionary measures for the progress and development of the masses well as promotion of education sector.

Governor Maqbool said that there was remedy of the engine or structure failure but there was no remedy of nation’s failure, as once a nation failed it became part of the past.

He said that continuity in policies was the need of the hour so that we would not become a failed state. He listed the achievements of the Punjab government in education sector through provision of infrastructure, free textbooks and stipend to girl students.

He said the government was giving special consideration to higher education, especially engineering sector education, which could be judged from the fact that one billion rupees were being spent on different projects for establishment of new faculties and strengthening of existing facilities in UET Taxila.

Gen Maqbool, who is also the UET chancellor, also held an open debate with the students. He took serious exception to lack of entertainment, sports, recreation facilities in the university and non-availability of books and internet facility in the library, shortage of male and female hostels, less financial support for completion of projects and not allowing the female students to conduct visits of industrial units and urged the vice chancellor to address the students grievances.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Habibullah Jamal and Tehsil Nazim Muhammad Sadiq Khan were also present on the occasion. The two-day conference on organised by the Mechanical Engineering Department of University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, (UET) concluded here on Tuesday.

Four sessions, including a special session, were held during which 10 papers were presented. On Tuesday the first session was held on the topic of “Failure Modes” in which two papers were presented on the subjects of “Failure of light straight run naphtha vessel” and “Experimental investigation of the effect of shot peering parameters on the fatigue life of aluminium alloys” respectively.

Second session was one the topic of “Linear and non-linear FEA” in which four papers were presented. The fourth and final session was held on the topic of “Structural stability” in which four papers were presented.