Jamia students develop eco-friendly vending cart

An eco-friendly food vending cart, which has provisions for waste disposal and solar power generation, developed by students of Jamia Millia Islamia, was one of the innovations showcased at the Festival of Innovations at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The project, which the university is in process of patenting, was among the six entries selected out of 114 sent for presentation at the recently concluded Festival. The other entries were from IIT-Kanpur, Central University of Jammu, IIT -Madras and IIT-Delhi.

“The product named ‘Innokart’ is an economical food vending cart that provides proper storage, shelter and hygiene.The cart promises to transform street food selling in India for the better,” said Mini S Thomas, Honorary Director, Jamia’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).

“Besides the storage drawers, the cart has two sections for waste disposal – for dry and wet waste each.The top panel has been kept free for advertisements, while there is a plan to set up solar panel on the rooftop,” she added.

The product has been developed by three students from the University’s Faculty of Architecture – Huma Pervez, Faiza Jamal and Faraz Khan. The university is now planning to test the cart in its premises and then work on its commercial viability. “For now, the cart will be used by our canteen people for selling food on streets on the university campus,” Thomas said.