COVID RELIEF ACTIVITIES
2020 - 2021
COVID
RELIEF ACTIVITIES
2020 - 2021
Heal the World
ASSISTANCE TO MIGRANTS
The Department of Agricultural Board, Chennai convened a meeting on 7 May 2020 inviting the representatives of the various Northeast states in Chennai and the Nodal Authority of Tamil Nadu State Mr. S. J Chiru, IAS and Mr. R. Sudhan, IAS for the movement of Northeast people stranded inTamil Nadu.
Following the meet, various state Government of the Northeast in coordination with the Government of Tamil Nadu arranged trains for the smooth transportation of stranded Northeasterners back to their respective states.Mr. Eusebious T Chullai, Asst. Prof. School of Aeronautical Sciences, along with few volunteers and Government officials took charge as Head Coordinator to assist stranded migrants and aided them in completing all the protocols, including medical screening, laid down by both the Governments before leaving Chennai. The first special train for Meghalaya left on 13 May 2020 and the process continued till 11 June 2020 wherein approximately around 1500 stranded Meghalayans arrived home safe and sound.
The last batch of around 35 passengers, mainly from a Garment factory in Tirupur reached home on 16 June 2020 by Spicejet. They were sponsored by a Local NGO in Meghalaya and some amount of fund raised by Mr. Chullai. The valiant act carried out by Mr. Chullai in connection with respective govt authorities was appreciated and telecasted in Northeast TV.
SUZHALI
The Centre for Automation & Robotics (ANRO) has successfully launched Suzhali – aPowered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR). Suzhali provides an affordable protection from harmful viral and bacterial infections for the medical frontline professionals; especially when they work inside the Intensive Care Units for long hours. This system is uniquely designed for public health professionals to be used along with PPE, to fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Retrofitting with PPE
- Continuous Airflow for Maximum Comfort
- Light Weight
- Lithium Ion Rechargeable Batteries
- Continuous 3- Hour Use
- 12 Air Flow Options
- Easy Wearable
- Anti-Fog
- AvoidsSuffocation
- Easy Replaceable Filter
- Adjustable Belt
- Airflow Regulator
- Low-Battery Indicator
Suzhali is tested successfully at the Chengalpattu Government Hospital inside Intensive Care Unit and Surgical Theatres for its functionality. Team ANRO has proposed to approach Government bodies for further approvals. Prior to Suzhali, Team ANRO developed Sevili, a service robot which navigates to isolation wards to deliver food and other medical necessities and facilitates remote communication between medical team and quarantined patients.
HINDUSTAN COVID CAMP - REACHING 5000 FAMILIES
Worldwide, at least 3.1 million people have been infected in less than four months by the deadly and easily transmissible Coronavirus. Hindustan Group of Institutions jointly with Dr. KCG Verghese Charitable Trust have expressed its oneness with the public and needy and contributed immensely by its innovation and relief activities, worth over Rs. 1.3 Crore, towards the welfare of the society during this pandemic. Hindustan Covid Camps reached out to over 5000 families by distributing essential groceries like dhall, rice, oil etc., and medical kitsthat costs over Rs. 50 lakhs. The camp successfully was set at various places including Illalur, Kayaar, Venbedu, Idayankuppam, Thirupporur, Padur, Kelambakkam, Pudupakkam, Neelangarai and Injambakkam, Chennai, and all Chengalpattu districts. In one of the camps organized on 11 May 2020, Mr. Jhon Loius, District Collector, Chengalpet, flagged off the launch and distributed the relief kits.
DR. KCG VERGHESE CHARITABLE TRUST
As a philanthropist, Late Dr. KCG Verghese, Founder-Chairman, Hindustan Group of Institutions was a dedicated leader of “Y’s Men International,” a worldwide service organization. Y’s Men Clubs served as a platform for Late Dr. KCG Verghese to serve the needy, destitute, senior citizens residing in old age homes, children in orphanages, leprosy and cancer patients etc. He donated dialysis machines to reduce the cost of dialysis to the patients who couldn’t afford the cost of treatment; and also initiated and conducted several free health check-up camps.
Established in 2006, Dr. KCG Verghese Charitable Trust undertakes various service projects benefitting the underprivileged society. Late Dr. KCG Verghese ensured that affected people are provided with food and also medical facilities whenever there was a natural calamity or disaster. The 2015 Chennai floods, 2018 Kerala floods, 2018 Cyclone Gaja are some of the devastating calamities witnessed in the recent past where Dr. KCG Verghese Charitable Trust has played a pivotal role in relief activities—both in monetary as well as essential commodities.
The novel Coronavirus, has wobbled the globe with its rapid, and uncontrollable spread. In the battle against COVID-19, large number of doctors, nurses and other paramedical workers are involved to provide effective treatment risking their own wellness. The Centre for Automation and Robotics at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science with a unified mission to protect the frontline medical workers developed Sevili, an exclusive service robot to monitor infected patients. Sevili is capable of navigating to the isolation ward to deliver food, medication and other necessities; and facilitates remote communication between medical team and quarantined patient through video & audio aids. Currently, 5 Sevili Robots are deployed at Rajiv Gandhi Govt. Hospital. The effort has been appreciated and welcomed by Dr. Vijayabhaskar, Hon’ble Minister, Dept. of Health & Family Welfare, Tamil Nadu.
Sevili has come up with one of the ways of minimizing the spread of virus by reducing the frequency of closer interactions with Corona affected patients. The project team led by Prof. Dinakaran, Head, Centre for Automation and Robotics (ANRO) and the members include Prof. M. M. Ramya & other faculty of ANRO, research associates Mr. Karthick Kumar, Mr. Jaise Jose, Mr. Rajesh, Mr. Sujin, Technical Staff Mr. Vinayagamoorthy and Mr. Rajasekar, Students of Mechatronics Engineering Mr. Lena Sekar, Mr. Akash and Mr. Sivaprakasam have involved themselves in a commendable mission. The team’s administrative contributions and innovative ideas have attained new heights and given new hopes to fight crisis.
Renault Nissan has joined hands with Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science for first phase scale up of the product. Hindustan is very much proud of being a part of the battle against COVID-19 through technological innovations and contributions. We very much admire the team’s shrewdness in taking this decisive action at the right time!
Drishyam 4.0 is a project conceived by HITS and Orient Flights in association with Aeronautical Society of India to support Police Department in crowd monitoring, surveillance and control during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The project headed by Mr. C.S. Karunakaran, Assistant Professor, School of Aeronautical Sciences, HITS began on started on 5 April 2020.Twelve Professional Aerial Photographers and 8 Drone Pilots based in Chennai City were inducted for the project. DJI Inspire, DJ Mavic pro 2, DJI Mavic Mini and DJI Phantom 4 are the drones used for this project. Project ‘Drishyam’ started with 6 drones that could cover 0.5 – 1km radius and fly for 5-6 hours a day with support to power supply. It is capable to cover 5 km range with low frequency disturbance.
The drone pilots worked in hands with Chennai City Police during the lockdown to monitor the streets to avoid crowd gathering. Crowd monitoring by drones were very helpful for Chennai City Police as they could monitor a wide area by not roaming into streets. Sealed places are susceptible to be infectious; hence personal inspection in those areas are harmful for authorities. Our support through drone monitoring helped in easing such inspections. People began to realize that they are being monitored when a drone is spotted which resulted in reduced crowd gathering. The 9-day mission witnessed a total of 53 hours and 30 minutes drone flying hours covering approximately 33 places in Chennai city. In a country like India, Project Drishyam 4.0 can play a pivotal role in crowd monitoring by inducting more drone pilots across India.
