Chhattisgarh govt school students praised for 'Sponge City' project

Vartika Patil and Umeshwari Sahu, two students from a government school in Raipur, earned praise at IIT Tirupati for their 'Building Sponge City Together' project, which focuses on rainwater harvesting using geospatial technology.

With limited resources, two students from a government school in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur have earned praise from international judges for their project on rainwater harvesting and geospatial technology during a competition recently held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Tirupati. The competition was organised on July 22 and witnessed participation from students representing six states across the country.

Vartika Patil and Umeshwari Sahu of PG Umathe Excellent Government School were the only participants from Chhattisgarh. Conducting a survey of 400 households, utilising modern tools such as Google Earth and spreading awareness about water conservation, the two students presented their project titled "Building Sponge City Together" on the BRICS 2026 platform.

Overcoming Adversity and Aspiring for the Future

Behind Vartika's achievement also lies the struggle of her mother, Jyoti Patil, who took up driving an auto-rickshaw after the death of her husband to support the family and ensure her daughter's education. "I am a student of Class 8th. I lost my father, and my mother works as an auto-rickshaw driver. We participated in BRICS 2026. We created a project titled 'Building Sponge City Together' and went to IIT Tirupati for the presentation. In this project, we surveyed 400 households using geospatial technology. We used applications like Google Earth to build this project. We presented this project at IIT Tirupati," Vartika said.

She further added that the international judges who evaluated the project encouraged them to take it forward, saying it could help India deal with water scarcity, a global challenge. Through the presentation, the students highlighted the importance of conserving every drop of rainwater and showcased the benefits of rainwater harvesting. "Through this project, we got to learn about geospatial technology," she added.

According to Vartika, participants from six states, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Haryana, took part in the competition, while only two students from Chhattisgarh were selected. She said they planned to take the project further and were preparing similar initiatives in the future.

Speaking about her future plans, Vartika said she aspires to serve the nation either by clearing the civil services examination or by becoming a scientist.

A Mother's Pride and Support

"I drive an auto-rickshaw for a living. My daughter went to Tirupati for the competition, and I am extremely proud of her. I want my daughter to advance further and achieve whatever she aspires to be. She wants to prepare for the IAS officer exam or become a scientist," Jyoti Patil, Vartika's mother said.

Jyoti said her husband passed away two years ago, after which she began driving an auto-rickshaw to support her three children. Earning a livelihood by driving an auto and taking care of three children is very tough, but she wants all her children to study and move ahead in life.

School Hails Achievement

Umeshwari Sahu, a Class 7 student of the same school, said that ahead of participating in the IIT Tirupati competition, they participated in the BRICS 2026 competition. From Chhattisgarh, only they were selected in the competition which marked the participation of contestants from six states across the country took part in this event. They learned a lot while developing this project and had a plan to take this project forward.

Mita Shukla, teacher of PG Umathe Excellent Government School, said, "We are extremely proud that only two students of our school were selected from the entire state of Chhattisgarh for the BRICS 2026 competition. The girls were selected for their Rainwater Harvesting project, which was developed under the guidance of our school teacher."

She further added that Rainwater harvesting is crucial today, and keeping this in mind, the students built the project under mentor guidance. (ANI)

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