Nagpur: How many times have you turned away from the red stains from public places? How many times have you cursed the person ahead of you spitting on the road? How many times have you thought to yourself, things will never change?
Three city youngsters too were fed up with the ‘great Indian spitting problem’ but they decided to do something about it. After going through various studies, Prateek Malhotra, Ritu Malhotra and Pratik Harde learnt that governments spend several crores regularly in cleaning paan and tobacco stains. The youngsters got inspired to create a first-of-its-kind mobile spittoon ‘Ezy Spit’ that can be carried around in one’s pockets.
Made from a combination of paper, pulp and polymer, the invention recently got a national patent. “The material absorbs the heat present in the
spit and converts the liquid into granules. After absorbing multiple spits, the spittoon can be easily disposed as it becomes a biodegradable waste,” said Prateek, a graduate in electronics and telecommunications.
It took them over six months to develop it. “We started with research in which we found that the Indian Railways has been spending Rs100 crore a month to scrub paan and tobacco stains at railway stations and trains. The Kolkata port Trust has been complaining about how the city’s iconic Howrah bridge has lost half of its protective metal due to the acids contained in the paan,” said computer science graduate Ritu.
On their visit to New Delhi, the group found out that the local authorities spend crores every year on removing the stains from the white walls of Connaught Place. “We wanted to come up with a solution which would be affordable and acceptable,” said Ritu.
The product is spill-proof and releases fragrance every time someone spits in it. “We have developed it in three sizes — pocket pack, mobile pack and commercial pack, priced at Rs2, 5 and 250, respectively,” said IT expert Harde.
In the pocket-sized, one can spit 25 times whereas the mobile pack can absorb 100 spits. The commercial spittoon can absorb 1000 spits and “is a good option for offices”.
Hoping that the government will promote its use under Swaccha Bharat campaign, these youngsters through this invention also aim at curbing diseases caused due to spitting. “We came across many medical reports which stated that any infection in the saliva gets mixed with the air which we breathe. Deadly infections spread through spitting like swine flu, tuberculosis, TB epidemic, pneumonia and others,” said Harde.
To ensure people’s safety, they have added materials which can kill 75-80% of the germs present in human saliva. “Even after its disposal, the product will not spread any infections,” they said.
The youngsters hope people won’t shy away from carrying it around. ‘Ab laal wala nahi, kamaal wala hoga mera India’ — is their catchphrase to attract users.
The trio came together last year and set up a start-up which produced innovations like digital aquarium and digital pots that can automatically provide water to plants. Today, it is grown into a small company having showrooms in several states.
