Necessity is the mother of invention they say. And the examples are everywhere to see. Faced with monetary constraints or lack of resources, people tend to think of creative solutions to everyday challenges. A man from Bihar with brilliant engineering skills transformed a car into a helicopter while another man from Pune converted a scooter into a puncture repair shop!
33-year-old Mahesh Karmali, a farmer residing in Uncha Ghana village, Jharkhand, has also employed jugaad technology to modify a second-hand Bajaj Chetak scooter into an affordable and efficient tractor.
According to The Economic Times (ET Auto), he purchased the scooter for Rs. 4,251 and spent Rs. 12,000 on its modification. The machine can plough 8,640 square feet of farmland on 2.5 litres of petrol. Talking about his genius “Power Tiller,” he says,
“I used to work as a mechanic in Bajaj showroom for about seven years and that knowledge helped me a lot in developing this tractor. It took me three days to design this new machine.”
Since this machine was made at a fraction of the cost of a normal tractor, he reveals,
“I started receiving lots of orders from my neighbours for Power Tiller ever since I started ploughing my farm. However, to build such machines in bulk I need drilling, cutting and welding tools which require a collective investment of Rs 3-4 lakh. Currently, I am eagerly looking for some financial support which can help me establish a workshop where I can design these vehicles.”
DNA India reports that this invention could turn out to be a godsend for the hilly regions of Jharkhand. Farmers across the state would get access to this machine if the government chooses to promote it.
In the future, Mr. Karmali plans on making an advanced version of the plougher that can be used for harvesting crops and cutting weeds as well. We wish him all the very best and hope that his invention helps farmers across the country afford quality agri-equipment.