This Ex-Navy Captain’s Simple Invention Stopped 1 Lakh Tonnes of Trash From Entering the Ocean
After spending 26 years navigating the globe as a Merchant Navy officer, Captain DC Sekhar returned home with a mission unlike any voyage he had undertaken before: cleaning India’s rivers and keeping its seas plastic-free.
Witnessing firsthand the sorry state of Indian ports and rivers — clogged with plastic — he felt compelled to act. What began as concern soon turned into an invention.
Drawing from his maritime experience and engineering know-how, Sekhar designed a unique floating barrier system for rivers. Unlike traditional cleanup methods, his innovation utilises the river’s natural currents. Installed diagonally across the flow, the barrier directs waste like plastic, branches, and debris towards a sweeping system stationed at the riverbank. The water continues to flow, while the waste is efficiently trapped.
What sets his invention apart is its simplicity and sustainability. It requires no fuel, is entirely passive, and costs nearly 30 times less than foreign alternatives.
Already deployed in Chennai’s Cooum and Adyar rivers, the system has removed over 20,000 tonnes of waste. Sekhar’s solution has gained the attention of municipal corporations, state governments, and even the defence forces.
The most ambitious project yet is underway in Goa, where floating barriers will be placed across all rivers draining into the Arabian Sea. Sekhar is also working on designs to tackle marine pollution directly in the ocean.
His vision is clear: to show that transformative, scalable environmental solutions can emerge from India — and in the process, restore faith in simple, homegrown innovations.
Edited by Khushi Arora.
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