Feroke students to head to National Children’s Science Congress with a ‘dog scarer’

Praarthana Ghosh and Anto C. Joy conduct extensive research on street dog menace and come up with a solution

A box half the size of an instrument box can save you from street dogs, thanks to T.V. Prarthana Ghosh and Anto C. Joy, students of Government Ganapath Vocational Higher Secondary School at Feroke in Kozhikode.

The box has also opened for the duo the door to the National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC) to be held in Ahmedabad by the end of January.

It was the experience of being chased by street dogs on their way to school that prompted Prarthana and Anto, Class 10 and 9 students respectively, to seek a solution to the issue. With the help of their science teacher Susheela P. and the Feroke municipal authorities, they conducted extensive research on the topic, which was titled ‘Street Dog Menace: Causes and supplementary solutions’, and in 45 days, they came up with conclusive data.

Surveys were conducted in localities such as Farook College, Karuvanthuruthi, and Puttekkat. “We found that irresponsible waste disposal is the primary reason for the rise in the number of street dogs. Also, hormonal variations are making them ferocious at times,” Prarthana said, adding that scientific waste management was the only way to control street dog population. They consulted experienced veterinarians and physicians and found that lack of proper first aid and timely administration of vaccines was the reason behind several rabies deaths in the State a few months ago.

The ‘Anti-dog chaser’ the students have developed is a small box that emits ultrasound when the buzzer is pressed and can be attached to the school bag. Anto feels that the device could be very beneficial to students like them who were often targeted by street dogs. Students play a major role in ‘Thelima’, a waste management programme which is being implemented at the school on an experimental basis.

Being one of the ideas proposed by students under the Atal Tinkering Lab at the school, Ms. Susheela saw merit in the project and guided them on proper research methodology so that they could attain a patent for their product, which is still only a prototype. They had it tested by experts at the University of Calicut.

Prarthana and Anto first presented the project at the school science fair at different levels and bagged third prize in the State. Later, they took part in the Children’s Science Congress where it was shortlisted as one of the 16 best projects from the State and found a place at the national level competition. They have also been invited to present their project at the Kerala Science Congress to be held at Peerumedu, Idukki, around the same time.