Bengaluru: Students of an engineering college have found an innovative method which can add more value to coconut by-products, especially the coir which is produced in large quantities across the state and increase the income of the coconut growers.
Four final year mechanical engineering students from the Saividya Institute of Technology in Rajanukunte of the city, constructed a bus stand using the coconut coir. The genius students are Suresh, Harsha, Manoj and Pavan.
According to Harsha, one of the students said that the idea behind their venture is to help society. “We wanted our final semester project work to be helpful to society. So we decided to take up this project,” he said.
Manoj, another group member, said they bought coir plates from the Karnataka State Coir Development Corporation. Later, they applied waterproof coating on the coir to ensure that it will not be damaged by rainwater. “A special coating was made to prevent the coir from being destroyed by fire,” he said.
He also informed that the team took two months to build the cus stand. The total cost of the project came up to Rs 22,000. The Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) gave the students Rs 7,500 as support.
The college’s faculty, including principal H S Ramesh Babu, HoD of the department of mechanical engineering A V Sitha and others supported this unique project.
