Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

A platform for innovators

People’s corner: An innovator explaining the functioning of a gadget at the Kerala Science Congress in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It has everything from a mini-lift to a room heat reducer, biological pesticide to herbal drugs for skin ailments and a fuel-efficient water pump to sensor-activated burglar alarm and a modified engine for waste energy re-use.

The People’s Science Corner at the venue of the 20th Kerala Science Congress here is a platform for innovators to exhibit their inventions and convince the scientific fraternity of the workability of their models.

About a dozen innovators have displayed various types of gadgets. These include simple ones like necklaces, vases and table mats made out of discarded plastic carry bags and toffee papers, a home-made mould for hollow bricks and concrete blocks and herbal drugs to the more sophisticated LED lighting systems and fuel-efficient engines used for various purposes.

Y.N. Nandakumar, a bus conductor hailing from Venjaramoodu, has showcased the largest collection of gadgets. His inventions comprise a motion sensor that can be used in burglar alarms, a miniature working model of a thermal power plant, a digital RPM counter and an engine that is claimed to work on waste energy.

Ravi Pala, another innovator who has converted several of his products into market success, has exhibited the model of an energy-efficient water pump that costs an average family only 25 paise worth of electricity per day. Vishnu, a ninth standard student of St. Jude Higher Secondary School, Kollam, has put up hand-drawn posters depicting the Infinite Space Theory and the Death of the Universe.

“We are happy that the Kerala Science Congress has provided us with a platform to showcase our products. But that alone will not do. The government should come forward to promote such initiatives,” Mr. Nandakumar said.

Planning Board member P.V. Unnikrishnan inaugurated the stall on Tuesday evening.

The organisers have made it clear that the exhibits would not be scientifically endorsed.

“We are only providing a venue for innovators. Some of the innovations may not stand up to scientific scrutiny,” said E.P. Yesodharan, Executive Vice-president, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.

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