Indian girl develops technology to tame vehicular pollution

As the National Capital is choking with smog, a student from Bhubaneswar has come up with a unique idea which will appeal to the conscience of vehicle owners and make them more responsible towards the environment.

You can call it shock messages, but it does its work. It was tried out in Mumbai suburban stations where daily six or seven people were killed when they were crossing the railway tracks instead of the foot over bridge. A slogan with a grotesque image of a person run over by a train did the trick, and there was a steep fall in fatalities.

The pollution caused by motorists prompted a student to come with an ingenious method to stir the conscience of the motorist. The student’s innovative idea won her the 2016 IGNITE Award from the President on Monday. Priyanka Panda from Bhubaneswar was aware of the pollution caused by vehicular traffic, especially the pollution caused by motorists idling their vehicles at short stops or red signal lights. Her basic idea was to display messages close to the odometer about the ill effects of pollution and the need to switch off the engine when it is idling for more than a minute.

The space near the odometer must be used to set up a digital screen that will display a shocking message to the driver about the damage his action is causing to the environment. Messages like You have spoilt two years of a child’s life or something similar to wrench the conscience of the driver to the damage being caused to the environment by his actions.

Vehicular exhausts are one of the leading causes of air pollution, and this is being experienced by the residents of the capital city which are covered by a thick blanket of smog prompting authorities to close schools and stop all construction activities. Panda’s efforts though small will contribute a lot to reducing the volume of pollution. The young girl plans to suggest her idea to various vehicle manufacturers. Panda wants to be a doctor and considers former President A.P.J Kalam as her biggest inspiration.


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