NIT students develop Kashmir's first racing model 'Go-Kart'

Srinagar: Students at the National Institute of Technology here have developed Kashmir's first racing model, Go-Kart, which will be participating in a national-level competition in Tamil Nadu next week.

A group of 25 students from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Srinagar developed Go-Kart (G-01). It will be participating in the All India Go Karting Competition to be held in Coimbatore next week, a spokesman of the institute said here.

He said the Department of Mechanical Engineering Team Garuda's first racing model, G-01, was flagged off on Thursday by In-charge, Director, NIT, Srinagar M F Wani and registrar Syed Kaiser Bukhari.

"The team of 25 students was formed by Head of the Department, Adnan Qayoum, and they worked under the mentorship of H S Pali and Dinesh Kumar Rajendran for the past several months on the campus," the spokesman said.

Go-Kart has been designed from various equipment and a 150-cc bike engine has been used in the vehicle, he said. It runs on diesel and goes to an extreme speed of 150 kilometers per hour.

The trial run was conducted successfully and it passed all tests before going on the road, the spokesman said.

"It is the first time that students have developed something like the G-Kart model. It is just beginning and there is more to come. Our students are working day and night on innovations and we are also upgrading our infrastructure on the campus," Wani said.

In his message, Director NIT Srinagar, Rakesh Sehgal said Go-Kart is a new edition in Kashmir, but it is more popular in south Indian states. "The trend of innovations in the Valley is evolving with advanced technology in every field and our students are performing well," he said. Coordinator Garuda Team, H S Pali said it is the biggest milestone in the history of NIT Srinagar.

"The G-01 model is the culmination of months of hard work, dedication and collaboration by the team members of Garuda," he said.

"We have pushed the boundaries of what is possible from students of Kashmir. The launch and demonstration of G-01 is an opportunity to showcase the capabilities of our Karting model," faculty coordinator of Team Garuda, Dinesh Kumar Rajendran said.

Rajendran said NIT Srinagar's student team will be participating in the All India Go Karting competition to be conducted by Kari Motors Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

"The students are well trained and capable enough to make wonders in the coming days," he said.