The answer was falling with the rain KARNATAKA UDUPI, October 17, 2013
When drying clothes became next to impossible in her hostel
during the monsoon, Sharadhi Shetty (13), a class 8 student,
set out to find a solution to the centuries-old problem of
running out to beat the rain and take the clothes in.
Ms. Shetty, a student of Morarji Desai Backward Classes
English Medium Residential School at Miyar village in
Karkala taluk, came up with a rain-sensor clothesline which
won her the Ministry of Science and Technology’s INSPIRE
(Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research) award.
She received the gold medal from Vice-President Hamid
Ansari at the Third National-level INSPIRE Awards
presentation function held in New Delhi on October 10.
In a press release issued here on Tuesday, Principal of District
Institute of Education and Training, Udupi, said that Ms.
Shetty received the medal for her innovation gadget rain
sensor.
When the first drop of rain falls on the sensor, a motor inside
the house will wind the clothesline to take the clothes inside.
A fan attached to the gadget will then dry the clothes when it
is pouring outside. Clothes should be hung on hangers for the
system to work. The sensor also beeps the user about the rain
so that she can take the clothes in.
“I have also experienced the problem of drying the clothes
during the monsoon. I thought of a solution to the problem,
which came out in the form of rain sensor,”
says the
daughter of Bhaskar Shetty, a farmer, and Sarojini Shetty, an
anganwadi teacher of Shiriyar village in Kundapur taluk.
Ms. Shetty, who was delighted to receive the award from Mr.
Ansari, attributes the success of getting this award “to my
teacher Sudhir Kumar, who teaches science at the school and
who encouraged me in this endeavour”. She said: “I want to
take up basic sciences and become a scientist.”
Schoolgirl designs a clothesline which will take the clothes
in when the first drop hits sensor
Vedantabharata 