Pre-degree dropout’s invention comes as ray of hope to prevent electrocution

ALAPPUZHA: The state might have lost count of the number of lives the rainy seasons have claimed over the years due to electrocution after power lines snap and fall on earth. Muhamma native C S Rishikesh, a pre-degree dropout, has come up with an invention — a disconnector functioning using wireless signals — which might solve the issue once and for all.

According to Rishikesh, the device can be fixed on both ends of the electric line. A receiver can be fixed near the transformer unit and a transmitter can be fixed at the end of the line. When the line gets severed, the receiver will get a signal from the transmitter within seconds and the transformer automatically gets disconnected. The unit can assembled for less than Rs 5000. “Accidents resulting from electric shock can thus be avoided,” Rishikesh told Express.

He has invented many electronic devices and the National Innovation Foundation of India (NIFI) awarded him the National Grassroots Technological Innovations and Traditional Knowledge award for his ‘wireless electricity sensing machine’. It can be utilised to examine whether an electric line is charged or not from the ground. The then President Pranab Mukherjee presented the award in Delhi in 2015.

An executive engineer of KSEB said, the department is looking for such kinds of inventions. “Earlier, he invented an electric sensor and it is a good device to identify the presence of electricity in a 11 KV line from the ground. The new device will be a lifesaver. Many people become prey to electrocution every year and the number is increasing during the rainy season. The accident at Thiruvananthapuram is the latest one. A young doctor died at Chalakkudy on June 4 after coming into contact with a snapped electric wire,” the officer said.

Rishikesh, 45, had to discontinue studies owing to financial constraints.However, his passion for electronics led him to buy textbooks and delve deep into the subject. He has invented more than 15 devices.

Last year, his ‘starting device’ for Nehru Trophy Boat Race (NTBR) won him accolades from various quarters. Many engineering firms had developed starting devices in previous years, but they failed to function.

In last year’s competition, the NTBR Society experimented with Rishikesh’s device and it worked perfectly. The Tourism Department has also decided to utilise the device in the coming boat race league in the state.