GUWAHATI, June 23 - Noted innovator and inventor Dr Uddhab Bharali has stressed the need for the benefits of scientific advancements percolating down to the grassroots.
Delivering the keynote address in the 21st Giridhar Sarma Memorial Lecture programme held under the aegis of the college teachers� unit of Arya Vidyapeeth College recently, Dr Bharali spoke on �Appropriate technology for common people�.
�The common perception of society is that the present technological developments have enriched the country to a great extent and at the same time this has placed the scientists on a very high pedestal in society. But I doubt whether the benefits of these developments really reach the marginalised sections of society,� he said.
Dr Bharali also expressed his misgivings whether the scientific inventions had helped to ease the pains and sufferings of the aggrieved people. He displayed with an audio-visual aid his 148 different inventions meant for easing the lives of the differently-able people and informed the house of another 123 projects that have been in the pipeline.
Dr Bharali said that through his innovative inventions he has tried to mitigate the sufferings of the people and to a great extent tried to bring those people into the mainstream.
Dr Bharali advised the students to be positive in their approach and urged the young generation not to depend on others or to borrow things from others but to exercise their minds liberally, as it goes a long way in creating innovative ideas and things which would help people. � �Now or never� should be the guiding force for the young and upcoming generation,� he said.
Scientist Prof Dulal Chandra Goswami of Gauhati University who was the chief guest on the occasion, spoke about the importance of science but at the same time he laid stress on the difference between an inventor and a scientist. Both have different roles to play in society, he said.
