Kalyan Teen's Suicide Saviour Fan: A Beacon of Hope in Student Mental Health Crisis
In the midst of escalating academic pressure and emotional distress affecting young students across India, a groundbreaking life-saving innovation has emerged from a school classroom in Kalyan. Anuska Nandi, a determined 15-year-old Class 10 student at B. K. Birla Public School, has developed the Suicide Saviour Fan, a specially engineered ceiling fan system designed to prevent suicides among students residing in hostels and paying guest accommodations.
Addressing a National Crisis Through Innovation
India has been grappling with a disturbing surge in student suicides, particularly among engineering aspirants and college students facing intense competition, academic overload, and emotional isolation. Tragically, hostel rooms equipped with ceiling fans have become common sites for such incidents. Deeply moved by frequent news reports about these tragedies, Anuska channeled her scientific curiosity and social awareness into creating a practical solution that could potentially save numerous lives.
"I regularly read about students dying by suicide in premier institutions like IITs and coaching centers such as Kota," shares Anuska, who aspires to become a scientist. "Noticing that ceiling fans were frequently involved in these incidents, I felt compelled to design a device that could intervene during an impulsive moment and provide students with a crucial chance to survive." This profound realization led to the conceptualization of the Suicide Saviour Fan.
How the Life-Saving Technology Works
The innovative fan operates like a regular ceiling fan under normal circumstances, ensuring it doesn't disrupt daily usage. However, it incorporates a sophisticated safety mechanism that detects abnormal or sudden excess weight. The system utilizes:
- A shock-up spring for precise weight detection
- A limit switch that activates when unusual load is applied
- An alarm system triggered by the limit switch
- A contactor that maintains the switch position until manually reset
For automated emergency communication, the device integrates Arduino Uno and a GSM module. When the Arduino receives a signal from the limit switch, the GSM module immediately sends alert messages to pre-authorized phone numbers and initiates repeated phone calls at five-second intervals. This ensures that hostel wardens, parents, or concerned authorities receive immediate notification without alerting other students. Importantly, the system functions without damaging the fan itself.
Practical Implementation and Recognition
The Suicide Saviour Fan has been specifically designed for compatibility with existing hostel infrastructure, making it suitable for widespread installation. It represents a cost-effective solution requiring minimal maintenance while operating silently and appearing identical to conventional ceiling fans.
Anuska has achieved significant recognition by submitting her invention for patent registration to Intellectual Property India, which has officially published the application after verification. This marks an extraordinary accomplishment for a school student innovator addressing a critical social issue.
Family Support and Educational Environment
Anuska comes from a family with strong academic and scientific foundations. Her father, Dr. Shyam Sundar Nandi, is a scientist, while her mother, Sanchita Nandi, previously served as a lecturer at Central Railway Junior College and has currently taken a career break to focus on her daughter's education.
"My daughter has always aspired to create something distinctive," says Dr. Nandi with evident pride. "She consistently participates in school-level and international science competitions and has earned numerous awards."
Her mother Sanchita expresses profound pride that Anuska has developed an invention that could help prevent suicides among bright young students in premier institutions across the country.
School Support and Future Potential
The entire device was developed within school premises with support from the physics faculty. While Anuska independently conceived the idea and technology, the school provided continuous encouragement. She particularly acknowledges assistant lab assistant Prakash Mahajan for arranging necessary materials and credits Principal Ranjana Jangra and teacher Suman Iyer for fostering an innovative environment that inspires students to think creatively.
During a recent school science exhibition where Anuska presented her innovation, educators, parents, and social activists welcomed the Suicide Saviour Fan and urged educational authorities, hostel administrators, and coaching institutes to consider piloting and adopting this technology. If implemented on a larger scale, the device could become a standard safety feature in student accommodations nationwide.
A Powerful Message of Hope and Change
From a school laboratory in Kalyan, Anuska Nandi's innovation stands as a powerful testament that age presents no barrier to creating meaningful social impact. As India continues to confront serious student mental health challenges, the Suicide Saviour Fan offers a ray of hope, demonstrating how empathy combined with scientific ingenuity can potentially save precious lives and transform student safety standards across the nation.
