Fariborz Sahba, the architect of the Lotus Temple in New Delhi, is expected to attend Zonasa ’14 at National Institute of Technology, Patna, next month

Thousands of students and experts will come together next month to address civic problems in Patna with architecture concepts.

National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna, will host Zonasa ’14, an annual zonal architectural festival, from September 26. Around 1,500 students from over 30 engineering colleges and architects from across the country will meet to discuss waterlogging and traffic snarls — problems plaguing the city.

Kamini Sinha, the in-charge of Zonasa ’14 and a faculty member of NIT-Patna, said: “Apart from discussing civic problems of Patna, the delegates will speak on rehabilitation of slums and improvement of public amenities.”

Among architects of national and international fame expected to come to Patna for the event are Iranian architect Fariborz Sahba, who designed New Delhi’s Lotus Temple.

The event, starting on September 26, will end on September 29.

Zonasa is the zonal body of National Association of Students of Architecture, a body of undergraduate students in India established in 1957.

The association is divided into six zones. The annual academic event is organised in different colleges every year where delegates present papers and discuss how aspects of architecture can solve problems.

NIT-Patna, which comes in zone 4 of the association, will host the event for the first time. Among its members in east India include Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology and government and private engineering colleges.

Amit Kumar Singh, a fourth-year architecture student, said: “Zonasa is an important event because architecture students from premier institutions such as IIT-Kharagpur, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, and Jadavpur University will take part in the event.”

Students from 32 and odd colleges from Bihar, Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh will attend the four-day event in Patna.

Zonasa in-charge Sinha added: “Patna has building laws but none to regulate plinth level of buildings. This leads to severe waterlogging and the architects will discuss the matter.”

Waterlogging, an improper sewerage system and lack of traffic control system are some of the issues to be taken up at the event next month.

Traffic snarls because of lack of proper planning is another issue affecting the people daily. The professionals will work out ways to manage the situation.

The participants will discuss the need for rehabilitation of slums, improvement of public amenities such as public toilets and setting up more recreational areas in Patna.

The experts will also present papers based on which the NIT-Patna administration will prepare a draft. It will be then submitted to the state government so that the urban development department can make use of the findings while planning projects.