Necessity is the mother of invention. This maxim has been proved true by a group of civil engineers from Kashmir who designed a flood resistant structure. The structure they have innovated has a unique feature – it floats. After witnessing the cataclysmic deluge of 2014 in Kashmir, a group of six civil engineering students of SSM College, Parihaspora in the final semester of their bachelor’s decided to do something different for their project that would help in flood preparedness and mitigation.
Completed in March 2016, the amphibious structure was developed as a prototype, which can be adopted as a key measure to tackle flood protection. The group of students comprises of Farheen Nazir, 25, Haya Hussain, 24, Aseel Ajaz Khan, 26, Babar Ashraf, 26, Aqib Farooq, 25, and Abida Bashir, 24. They are all alumni of the college, now working at different institutions and places in the valley.
“In the last semester, we have to submit a project that marks the successful completion of our degree. Since we were still coping with the disastrous effects of flood, our team members wanted to use our skills and do something useful in this regard and so we came up with the idea of designing flood resistant structure. But it was a big risk because this innovation needed ample time and we had only six months. If we would have failed to complete it within that duration, we could have lost a whole year. We took the risk and I think it was worth it,” says Aseel, who currently works as a private consultant engineer.
The structure consists of two parts: a hollow steel tank, which is the substructure, and the small steel shed which rests on the former. The shed, which is made up of steel, is fixed with the ground with the telescopic sleeve pillars, at each corner, with the adjustable height, so when the inundation results in the raise of water level, Archimedes Principle comes into play – the hollow steel tank rises and the telescopic sleeves protract, thereby resulting in the elevation of the entire structure. Telescopic sleeves restrict the lateral motion of the structure, or in other words, the structure when floating on the surface of the water, cannot move from side to side. Therefore, the structure has the lone freedom of moving vertically, making it the ideal flood resistant structure.
After approaching their supervisors with the idea, they got a good feedback and the college provided them with a piece of land to establish the first working prototype project from Civil Engineering Department of SSM College of Engineering and Technology. The college assigned a team of labour from its professional community who helped in constructing the whole structure.
However, the students had to contribute from their own pocket to fund the project. They provided equal share to collect Rs 1 lakh required for the project.
“In colleges like NIT or IUST, when students come up with innovations, the projects are funded and supported by the government but ours was a different case as we belonged to a private institution. So, we had to fund it on our own. Both the skilled and unskilled labour was provided by the college but we had one drawback, that is, our expenses were doubled as it became very difficult to transport material from Srinagar to Parihaspora,” says Aseel.
Explaining the working of their structure, Babar who is now working as R&D Junior Engineer said, “This structure differs from houseboats as it is laterally restrained that is it is not movable, it rests at its own place. This prototype that we have designed weighs around 450 kg with a design load of 2900 kg, which means the structure can float on the water, bearing the additional load of about 2500 kg, and once the limit is crossed beyond 2500 kg, the structure will start to sink gradually. A lot of modification can be incorporated into this model but without financial aid we are unable to do so.”
“We can build this flood resistant structure right next to our houses so that at the least our lives and other important goods are kept safe. It would be like a rescue cabin, built adjacent to the pre-existing house,” says Haya who is working as a lecturer in MasterPro College of Engineering and Technology, Nowgam.
After giving the first physical demonstration of their prototype of amphibious house that is designed to float up with the rising water in the event of a flood, the team received great appreciation on their Convocation Day. They were given full assurance that their project would be taken forward and would receive the attention it deserved. But fate fell short as just after a week the turmoil of 2016 began followed by unrest of six months.
It was during recently held TALAASH- Skill and Entrepreneurship Conclave 2018, organized by Jammu and Kashmir Skill Development Mission (JKSDM), their project received recognition by securing a position in eight shortlisted innovations from the long list of 50.
“After working hard for so long and tackling hurdles of all sorts, it was like a sigh of relief when we came to know that our work is finally being recognised. This project of ours has a potential utility and if incorporated on a large scale across the valley, will also generate huge employment. We have faced this calamity ourselves and who else can understand the necessity of structures like these,” says Farheen who is a guest lecturer in Kashmir Government Polytechnic, Goggi Bagh.
While talking to the HOD of Civil Engineering Department, Shabina Masoodi, she put forth her points regarding how private institutions have to face problems of funding when it comes to working on different scientific and innovative projects. Beaming with pride, she praised and appreciated the kind of perseverance and diligence her students showcased.
“Usually funded projects take place in NITs and IITs and being a private college, we have to take care of all the expenses on our own. This becomes a barrier. Otherwise, I think, we have a lot of students who come up with great innovations. I have seen these people working on their project and they have put a lot of effort to set up this structure. They would stay for nights and make sure the construction is being done properly and that shows how engrossed they were in their work. After this success, we are planning to build correspondence with other universities outside the country for more exposure. If the government comes forward and helps in the funding, it would be good, not only for these students or our college, but for the entire valley, since we have earlier seen the floods and know that the huge chunk of the valley is vulnerable. I just wish that the government would show more interest in these kind of projects,” says Masoodi.