RANCHI: The adage necessity is the mother of invention holds true for Mahesh Manjhi. Faced with financial constraints, the farmer from Murki village in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh ‘tweaked’ his damaged water pump to run on pedal power.
Unlike conventional pumps that run on electricity and fuel, Manjhi’s pump can be operated by paddling an old bi-cycle which in turn generated power to pump out water from the ground to water his crops.
“It all happened after the coil of the pump burnt due to which we were unable to water the crops. Due to financial constraints and erratic power supply in the region, it was not possible to get it repaired again. I decided to make it work without any power source,” said Manjhi, who is in his mid-50s.
Various ideas came out but their implementation was not feasible, said the Class five passout.
“One day, I was taking rest after lunch then all of a sudden it came to mind that why not give it a try by connecting the pump with the old bicycle lying in my backyard. I asked my son to get a few things which he brought the next day.”
After a week’s trial, the farmer succeeded in his mission. Manjhi said he removed the motor fan from the pump and connected its bush with the bicycle wheel through a free-wheel with the help of chain, which rotates when paddled
Manjhi now irrigates his vegetable crops in his 2.5 acre plot using this pump efficiently from the nearby pond without investing a single rupee, he said.
“It only requires one person to paddle the cycle.”
The drawback is that the pump cannot extract deep underground water but Manjhi is making changes to make it more powerful.