RANIPET: Necessity is the mother of all inventions. The emerging threat of COVID-19 has led the Boilers Auxilliaries Plant of Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL-BAP) in Ranipet to innovate a customized prototype disinfectant sprayer which has caught the attention of authorities fighting the virus.
The equipment has been deployed in Melvisharam municipality in Ranipet district to sanitise streets and habitations where people with a travel history have been quarantined.
Named BHELMISTER and designed and manufactured in a short period of four days under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme, the equipment has been rolled out for mass disinfection activities.
“The fundamental principle of the equipment is that water mixed with sanitiser is atomized through a spray nozzle and converted into very fine droplets of liquid,” M Ramakrishna, Additional General Manager, Water Systems of BHEL, Ranipet, told The New Indian Express.
Designed and manufactured for combating COVID-19, the sprayer’s blower at the back was devised in such a way that it generates enough speed to disperse the atomized particles for a distance of about 10 metres, said Ramakrishna.
It has been deployed in Melvisharam to combat the spread of COVID-19 for the last two days after it was handed over to the Ranipet district administration by BHEL’s executive director C Murthy.
With a capacity to pump out 2000 litres of disinfectant within an hour and 45 minutes, the BHELMISTER is mounted on a mini-goods vehicle and operated through electric power.
“We have mounted the BHELMISTER on a mini-goods vehicle and the generator and tank in another vehicle so that it is moved even into the narrow lanes to sanitise streets,” said P Thirumalselvam, Commissioner of Melvisharam municipality.
Enthused by the capacity of the innovative disinfectant sprayer, the Ranipet district administration has sought a few more of the prototype.
“The Ranipet collector has sought some more BHELMISTER sprayers,” said a senior officer of BHEL.
The heavy electrical giant is also getting calls from other districts for the customized sprayer.
The officer stated, “We have got calls from Vellore district asking for the sprayer. Our management will take a decision on manufacturing the equipment and supplying it to other districts.”