12-year-old Varun Saikia, from Gujarat’s Vadodra, has invented a device that can scoop out plastic from water bodies. Disturbed over the death of a pilot whale in Thailand due to plastic consumption, the eight grader from Navarachana School started working on machine that can reduce plastic from our water bodies. After three months, Varun developed Makara, a device that can collect floating waste from rivers, lakes and ponds
The device is completely battery-operated and reduces the manual work involved in cleaning. The light-weight machine can collect 3kg of floating garbage in one go.It is ideal for catching floating styrofoam cups, plastic bottles, bags and insects. Using the concept of fluid mechanics, the machine directs plastic waste towards the receptacle without using any extra force other than the same mechanism which drives it forward. What makes it unique from other pond and ocean cleaning devices is its mobility in water bodies. It doesn’t need to be installed around the polluted water bodies. It could be effortlessly used to clean swimming pools as well.
