INDORE: 28/6/1996: President of India Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma laid the foundation stone of the building to house Indus-2, a 2.5 GeV (2,000 million electron volts) Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS), here at Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) on Saturday afternoon.
On the occasion, M.P. Governor Mohammed Shafi Qureshi, Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, Atomic Energy Commission Chairmna Dr.R.Chidambaram, CAT Director Dr.D.D.Bhawalkar, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Mumbai) Director Anil Kakodkar, Indore MP Ms Sumitra Mahajan, and State Tourism and Culture Minister Dr.Vijaylaxmi Sadhoo were also present.
Prior to the foundation laying ceremony, Dr.Sharma visited a CAT laboratory and viewed latest laser technology instruments developed by the scientists of the CAT. Some of the laser based instruments displayed in the laboratory included carbon dioxide laser, laser engraver, surgical laser, neodimium YAG (Nd:YAG) laser, copper vapour laser, nitrogen laser, laser micrometer, and laser flourimeter. CAT scientists explained Dr.Sharma various uses of these instruments in medical science and other spheres of life.
Dr.Sharma arrived at the site of foundation laying in a black Chevrolet along with Governor Mohammed Shafi Qureshi. He was received by Dr.Chidambaram, Dr.Bhawalkar, MP Ms.Mahajan and other scientists. Dr.Sharma unveiled the curtain of the foundation stone. Indus-2 project in charge A.S.Raja Rao explained the Indus-2 plan to the President and other dignitaries. Indus-2 is a powerful SRS which would accelerate and store electrons at energy level of 2.5 GeV. The design of Indus-2 is complete and prototype s of some of the subsystems have been tested. When completed Indus-2 would be one of the few important SRS in the world and would also provide Indian scientists with access to unique radiation facility.
Later Dr.Sharma inspected the Indus-1 building and was apprised about the working and the developments of Indus-1 by Dr.Bhawalkar. Dr.Sharma and others were also shown the development at CAT which lead to accelerators for medical, agricultural and industrial applications. A 10 MeV microtron being developed for irradiation of potatoes and onions to prevent sprouting was also shown to the President.
Dr.Sharma was also introduced to the CAT Scientists including Dr.K.C.Rustagi, Dr.R.Bhatnagar, B.J.Vaidya, T.P.S.Nathan, by Dr.Bhawalkar and Dr.Chidambaram. During the visit, he was all praise for the hard work and devotion of the CAT scientists in the field of laser technology to bring India at par with western countries.