At the Public Health Innovations Conclave conducted at the HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad, very many companies presented their health solutions over the three days (November 12 to 14, 2021) it was held. But one exhibit stood out, that of K Madhurima, a Class IX student from Zilla Parishad High School, Chandanapur, Telangana, because she was the only student innovator present there. Her device, the 'anti pandemic air sterilisation machine', was a team effort of the school and promises to wipe out COVID virus droplets from the environment with the power of UV lights.
Spurred on by the Telangana Innovation State Cell (TSIC), Madhurima and her Physics teacher T Sampath Kumar started working on the device in September 2020 and it was the student who brought the idea of the teacher. "When students were asked to come back to school with masks on and maintain social distancing, Madhurima wondered how all this will help because the virus can still spread through the air. Upon a visit to a nearby shop, she was asked to place currency notes in a UV sterilisation box. That's where she got the idea of purifying the air using UV rays," informs the teacher. The staff members pitched in the funds to purchase 60 watt UV lights bulb online, while the metallic bin with holes was taken from the petrol pump nearby. "Since this is an industrial area, we were able to source other materials from around us," says the teacher while Madhurima adds that, "Within 15 days, we were able to design and make the device."
The air is sucked into the device and after being filtered by the UV lights, it is released and the blower helps with this. The device can run via solar power, electricity and batteries as well, but currently at the school, they are using electricity to power it up. Though the lockdown stalled their progress, they managed to finish it.
If may be recalled that it was just last year that the same Physics teacher and another student, M Raajanjali came up with a locust menace prevention machine. It uses pre-recorded animal noises installed on a chip inserted in a sensor to prevent any mischievous wild boars or monkeys from entering the field and creating havoc. Looking at her innovation, donors from the US came forward to sponsor her education.
In this way, around 20 projects have come forth from this school and gone to the district, state, national and international levels as well. Like D Harshitha came up with a helmet that blows away smoke and M Samhitha came up with an elderly-friendly walking stick that has features like a torchlight, medicine reminder and more. "What we learn in school should be useful to society, which faces many problems. The motto of the school itself is, 'Come to learn, serve to go'," shares T Sampath Kumar.
To encourage this attitude, a plethora of activities and field trips are conducted. A two-lakh-worth Science lab has also been donated to the schools which helps the matter further. When it comes to the innovative devices, which the school seems to be churning out one after another, the staff comes together to collect funds for the same, just like they did for Madhurima, and with that, every project becomes an outcome of a team effort. Debates and elections are also held on a regular basis as well to ensure that when the time comes to present these projects to the world, the child is eloquent enough to do so.
