Umaisar Gull Ganie
Anantnag, Jan 1: Moved by repeated incidents of electrocution claiming lives, particularly Power Development Department employees in the Valley, a young engineer from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district has developed a life-saving safety device aimed at preventing fatal electrocutions.
Zahid Bashir, a resident of Kralpora hamlet in Anantnag and a B.Tech graduate in Computer Science from the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), has designed a safety device intended to enhance electrical safety and reduce the risk of deadly electric shocks.
Zahid said the system comprises two main components — a hardware device and a mobile application that controls it. “The application has multiple modules and a public reporting or grievance section,” he said.
He said that when common people witness a fault in an electric line and report it through the application, the device immediately gets alerted. “After that, officials can depute a lineman to the concerned area. The system tracks the lineman while he is on duty, and once the fault is rectified, only the same person (lineman) can log into the application and, by informing it that the line is now functional, the device will show a green signal,” Zahid said.
According to him, the public can only submit reports, while access to other sections of the application is restricted to authorised PDD officials. “The application has two-factor authentication and cannot be accessed by unauthorised persons,” he said.
Zahid said the application also includes a grievance redressal option, allowing users to upload photographs along with a written complaint for quick action. He said it took him around six months to develop both the hardware and software components of the device, using materials procured at his own expense.
“At present, this is a prototype, and I am controlling my own home through it,” he said, adding that he has already filed a patent for the innovation under Mission YUVA. “More such innovations will follow. Earlier, I have also developed devices aimed at preventing suffocation hazards,” he said.
Zahid said, “The Valley has immense potential for innovation, but what is needed is proper government support and a platform to nurture such ideas,” he added.
