Students played crucial role in developing economical arsenic-filter, says IIT-Kharagpur Professor

Education Vijay,Great minds make great innovations, like an IIT-Kharagpur Professor, Sirshendu De, who has recently completed his project of an economical filter for less privileged districts in West Bengal. Having realised the need of removing arsenic (chemical) content from the water, the professor started his work way back in 2004. The economically poor can now afford a filter at just Rs 500 for 100-litre water per day.

After receiving the coveted Innovation Award 2016, Sirshendu expressed his joy and the whole idea behind the research.

"We realised that the arsenic problem was emerging in some districts, including  Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas due to the nature of soil which was gangetic alluvial soil. However, districts like Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura were rocky laterite in nature, that works as a natural protection against arsenic content," he said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), consumption of arsenic-contaminated water for 5-20 years causes severe diseases such as "skin problems (such as colour changes on the skin, and hard patches on the palms and soles of the feet), skin cancer, cancers of the bladder, kidney and lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet, and possibly also diabetes, high blood pressure and reproductive disorders."

The arsenic content in water was recognised in the 1980s, after which, many scientists tried to solve the problem. Prof De was one of them, but he visioned this revolutionary innovation in 2004. In order to complete the project, he received funds from the Government of India in 2009 and the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in 2012.

"Nothing would have been possible without the help of my students, they have played a crucial role in making the project happen. From designing the filter to deploying the samples in schools and district, they have participated actively, " De said