Every monsoon, flooded roads hide deadly dangers. Open drains and deep potholes beneath the water claim lives that could have been saved.
Hoping to change that, 38-year-old Abhijit Dowarah from Sivasagar, Assam, has created a low-cost solar safety device using discarded plastic bottles. By day, its reflector makes hidden hazards visible, and by night, its solar-powered light switches on automatically, helping pedestrians and motorists stay safe.
An Arts graduate with a passion for innovation, Abhijit has already built over 50 useful products from waste and now hopes this simple invention will be adopted in flood-prone areas to prevent accidents and save lives.
Sometimes, the most powerful solutions aren’t the most expensive—they’re the ones built with compassion and purpose.
Every monsoon, flooded streets become a hidden danger. Beneath murky water, open drains and deep potholes disappear from sight, turning an ordinary walk or drive into a life-threatening risk. Across flood-affected parts of Assam, such accidents are an unfortunate reality every year.
For 38-year-old Abhijit Dowarah from Sivasagar, the answer did not lie in an expensive piece of technology. Instead, it began with a discarded plastic bottle.
An arts graduate with an eye for practical innovation, he has developed a simple solar-powered safety device that warns people about hazards concealed beneath floodwater. Made using used plastic bottles and other low-cost materials, the device reflects sunlight during the day, making submerged drains and potholes easier to spot. After sunset, a built-in solar light switches on automatically, helping pedestrians and motorists navigate flooded roads more safely.
It is an uncomplicated idea, but one that could make a massive difference in areas that experience waterlogging every monsoon.
When a plastic bottle becomes a lifesaver
Innovation has long been Abhijit’s way of solving everyday problems. Over the years, the self-taught inventor has created more than 50 products using discarded materials. His inventions range from a wearable device designed to assist visually impaired people to shelters for stray dogs made from old television sets. During this year’s floods in Sivasagar, he also converted his motorcycle into a mobile solar charging station, allowing residents without electricity to charge their phones.
Now, he hopes his latest invention will find a place across flood-prone towns and villages, where a simple warning marker could prevent a devastating accident.
For him, innovation has never been about building something extraordinary. It has always been about using what others throw away to protect lives and serve the community.
