Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, November 20

The design of a low-cost gadget to sanitise the tyres of vehicles readied by Dr SK Misra, Registrar, IK Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKG-PTU) and his team, has been patented by the Government of India.

The invention was made in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic but holds significance even now in keeping infections at bay. At that time, Dr SK Misra was serving as Registrar at Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar. In this project, the then Director of NIT Dr Lalit Awasthi and Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering of NIT Dr Shailendra Bajpai had also participated.

The patent has been registered jointly in the name of all three by the Patent Office, Government of India, under patent number 466500.

IKGPTU Vice-Chancellor Dr Susheel Mittal and NIT Director Prof Binod Kumar Kanojia honoured Dr Misra and his team for the achievement by presenting them a copy of the patent certificate.

Regarding the patent, Dr Misra said there was apprehension during the pandemic that the Covid-19 virus was falling all over the roads or tracks and could enter campuses via the wheels of cars. Therefore, contaminated roads or tracks could infect persons walking over it. It had thus become important to sanitise all vehicles entering the campus using a car wheel sanitisation system. The system comprises a wooden enclosure through which the car is made to run through. The wet pad of the system containing 1 per cent sodium hypochlorite solution disinfects the wheels once the car wheel is run through it. He said that patent was applied for on August 1, 2020. He said that the invention would help check various other infections (not just Covid-19) making inroads via vehicle tyres and keeping them germ/virus-free at a low cost.

#Kapurthala