Context: The Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Patna, has introduced a novel pendant-shaped device named NITISH (Novel Initiative Technological Intervention for Safety of Humanlives).

Need

• The initiative was triggered by recurring deaths among farmers due to lightning and flash floods, emphasizing the device's role in saving lives.

About the device

• The NITISH Device is introduced in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Patna.

• It is designed to provide timely alerts for lightning, floods, heatwaves, and coldwaves, not earthquakes and tsunamis.

• The device is connected to the Bihar Meteorological Service Centre, ensuring real-time and accurate weather-related alerts.

• The NITISH device will sound an alert to its users half an hour before lightning or flooding.

• The pendant will get charged from body heat. The device will sound an alert in three ways: it will send voice messages; its colour will change from green to red; and the device will keep warming till its user switches it off.

• Considering the challenges faced by farmers, the device is waterproof, ensuring durability and functionality in various weather conditions.

Device Sparks Political Controversy

• Naming After Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Draws Sharp Reactions

• While the NITISH device garners attention for its innovative disaster alert system, its nomenclature has stirred political controversy.

• Critics question the choice of naming the device after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, labeling it as sycophancy.

• The device, designed to address recurrent lightning and flood-related fatalities, has both political supporters defending it as Nitish's brainchild and detractors dismissing it as an unnecessary display of allegiance in the political landscape.