Shillong, July 3 : A team from St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, has brought laurels to the state by securing the second prize at the prestigious national-level competition, “110 Hours Hackathon”, organized by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in commemoration of 110 years of the ZSI’s founding. The central theme of the hackathon was Biodiversity and Climate Change.
Out of 305 registered teams from across India, 105 were shortlisted for the first round, followed by 16 semi-finalists who competed at the ZSI Western Regional Centre, Pune. Finally, five teams advanced to the finals held at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, Kolkata, on June 30, 2025. The team from St. Anthony’s College was led by Dr. Damanbha Lyngdoh, Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, and included Mr. Thyanswer Challam, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biotechnology and Mr. Saurabh Kumar Thapa, System Administrator, Computer Science. They were awarded second prize for their innovative project titled “KremCare”.
Their journey began with a regional victory at the North Eastern Regional Centre, ZSI, Shillong, on May 23, where they emerged as winners. They then represented the region in the semi-finals in Western Regional Centre, ZSI, Pune on June 9, where their team was selected among the final five to compete in Kolkata. The final competition featured teams from Jodhpur, Ladakh, Jabalpur, Digha, and Shillong. The first prize went to the team from Ladakh, with St. Anthony’s College securing second place and Digha taking third.
The winning project from St. Anthony’s College, titled “Meghalaya’s Hidden World: Biodiversity and Sustainability in Meghalaya’s Caves”, centred around an app-based module called CaveSense. This low-cost, sensor-based monitoring system is designed to protect delicate cave ecosystems by detecting real-time environmental and human disturbances. CaveSense integrates motion, vibration, and environmental sensors with wireless data logging and alert systems. The system is built for rugged cave terrains and supports long-term ecological monitoring and tourism impact assessment. The project also emphasizes community engagement and outreach, ensuring local participation in cave conservation. The app is part of a larger conservation initiative called KremCare, which aims to promote sustainable, grassroots-driven protection of Meghalaya’s rich cave ecosystems.
The team members brought their unique strengths to the project: Mr. Challam, a biotechnologist with expertise in IoT applications in biology; Mr. Thapa, a skilled systems and app engineer; and Dr. Lyngdoh, a zoologist with a PhD in biodiversity and conservation. Notably, Dr. Lyngdoh is a well-known researcher with numerous publications and national research projects to his credit. He has received several national and international accolades, including the Young Scientist Award by the Indian Society for Parasitology (2016), the Sudev Bhusan Young Scientist Award by the Zoological Society of India (2016), and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Travel Grant to Greece (2023), among others.
The final event was graced by Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as Chief Guest. Other dignitaries included Sushil Kumar Awasthi, IFS, Director General of Forests & Special Secretary, MoEFCC; Ms. Nameeta Prasad, Joint Secretary, MoEFCC; and Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, Director, ZSI.
The Hackathon was part of the Animal Taxonomy Summit, a three-day event running from June 30 to July 2, 2025.
