IIT-Delhi students develop ways to curb air pollution

Union Minister calls upon everyone to join the national effort to fight pollution

February 26, 2020 01:35 am | Updated 10:31 am IST - NEW DELHI

NEW DELHI, 21/11/2018: V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, in New Delhi on November 21, 2018. Photo: Kamal Narang

NEW DELHI, 21/11/2018: V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, in New Delhi on November 21, 2018. Photo: Kamal Narang

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi hosted an exhibition on ‘Clean Air Prototypes’ developed by pan India IITs on Tuesday. The exhibition was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Sanjay Dhotre.

The exhibition showcased prototypes from IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, IIT-Dhanbad and IIT-Ropar that dealt with issues like filtration of particulate matter, measurement of AQI, how to use agricultural waste to make eco-friendly products and innovations to avoid stubble burning.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Dhotre said, “We need to abandon our conventional mentality of acting only when the problem directly affects us. We need to thank Delhi for creating an awareness in the country. Today, we know about AQI because of Delhi.”

The Minister added that the government was making serious efforts to drastically reduce pollution levels in the country but it was important for every citizen and every organisation to make concerted efforts by joining in the national effort to fight air pollution.

‘Ready for deployment’

IIT Director V. Ramgopal Rao said that all the prototypes are in working condition and ready to be deployed to curb pollution in Delhi so that the impact can be studied. “We have one planet and I think it’s everybody’s responsibility to protect it,” Mr. Rao said.

Aerogram-Ezio, a start-up incubated at IIT-Delhi said that their prototype was based on the idea that people should know what they breathe. The device uses sensors to depict AQI levels in 100 metre vicinity and has been tested in different pockets of IIT-Delhi campus.

The founders hope that they will be able to create a database of AQI levels in different areas during variable time periods to identify the hotspots. The identification will further help in choosing the course of action.

Another start-up, Kriya Labs, yet again an IIT-Delhi innovation, utilises agricultural waste to make eco-friendly products such as cups, plates, notebooks, pots etc.

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