An Ex-IITian, Indian Professor In Canada Invents Road That Can Repair Itself
Source: India Times | Image Courtesy: navbharattimes
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No matter how much we try, roads in India lay in pitiable conditions after going through a single monsoon. Pits and potholes develop and commuting becomes a painful task to do. However, an Indian professor in Canada has come up with an outstanding way to make roads repair on itself without spending an extra penny.

This self-repairing roads will use some highly advanced materials and technology that will have greater longevity and sustainability.

Nemkumar Banthia, who originally hails from Nagpur, is a professor in the department of civil engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver. After completing his graduation from IIT Delhi, he shifted to Canada 34 years ago. There began his search for a better road.

Since 2014, he and his team have been engaged in a village called Thondebavi in Karnataka, 90 km from Bengaluru, to build demo of this project. The roads he is aiming to build are eco-friendly and cost-effective. About 60 per cent of the cement gets replaced by fly ash which helps to curb the amount of carbon footprint.

The road in Thondebavi was completed last year and it has survived all four seasons without getting damaged. The road that has been built is 60 per cent lesser than a any normal Indian road and costs way less than producing other roads.

There are fibres that have a hydrophilic nano-coating on them. Hydrophilia means they attract water, and this water then becomes available for crack healing. Whenever cracks develop, there is unhydrated cement that produces silicates.

Mr. Banthia believes that these roads may last as much as 15 years, more than any other roads in India. It’s also 30 per cent cheaper in terms of cost.

The project will be used for rural development. Once sanctioned, the roads will be implicated in different states starting from Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

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Editor : The Logical Indian

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