Nilay Kulkarni discussed his invention at the TED talk in New York

Nashik-based Nilay Kulkarni's earliest memory of the Kumbh Mela wasn't a pleasant one. Back in 2009, when he was still in Std V, he recalls seeing news flashes of how 10 people had died at a stampede during the mega religious festival, which is celebrated in accordance with the Hindu calendar. The number of casualties rose to 39 in 2013. "I remember my grandfather telling me that going by the situation, more people would die during the next fair. It unsettled me. I wanted to find a solution to this," said Kulkarni.