IIT-ISM, Dhanbad will make it possible to construct roads on the difficult and dormant peaks of the Himalayas. With this new controlled blasting technique developed by Professor A K Mishra, Department of Mining Engineering IIT-ISM will provide immense support for the road project in Uttarakhand.

Four engineers of Border Road Organisation (BRO) are taking technical training of controlled blasting at IIT-ISM Dhanbad to start the road project at Joshimath area in Uttrakhand at earliest.

This blasting technology (developed by ISM) will help us a lot in the construction of the road in the Himalayan range, said an engineer. 

It is necessitated to carry out blasts in such a way that the desired degree of fragmentation is achieved in the primary blast, with minimum undesired side effects such as ground vibration, air blast, noise, fly rock, generation of oversize boulders, the formation of the toe, and over break or back break, he said.

Hence, the ultimate objective of the blasting engineer is to ensure that the blasts are carried out in an eco-friendly manner.

Controlled blast design and its implementation using electronic detonators with signature hole technique is very helpful in maintaining all and it is safe too, he added.

A huge construction cost of the road will be saved with the help of this technology, while on the other hand, it will create very less impact on the environment, he said.

This controlled blasting technology is developed by Professor Arvind Kumar Mishra, he was also conferred with prestigious National Geoscience Award for his contribution to explosives engineering, blasting technology and overall mining technology.

Mishra, who specialises in drilling and blasting technology, rock excavation, engineering and geomechanics, has published over hundreds of technical papers in reputed international journals.

One of his paper, titled "Innovative changes in mining using digital blasting technology" has been published in the Journal of Mines, Metals and Fuels.