Indore : Retired mechanical engineer Rajkumar Jhanjhari, 71, has modified an ordinary cycle in such a way that it requires minimum effort to pedal and works smoothly with minimum friction.
Sharing his invention and the story behind it, Jhanjhari said, “Whenever we have a fearful or near death experience, we understand the value of life, and that is how I understood the value of environment and surroundings.”
He elaborated that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006, and following his recovery, he decided to bring a change in the society for conserving environment and promoting health. “I wanted to give back to environment and society,” he said.
Innovator Rajkumar Jhanjhari with his modified cycle. Photo by Pintu Namdev |
Further, on his research, he came in terms with the major problem of society. “Most people are facing difficulty while travelling in the city, which does not seem to be getting solved,” Jhanjhari said.
He explained that as population increases, numbers of motorised vehicles too increase, which require space on limited roads. “There is just one feasible solution to this problem and that is cycle,” he said.
He elaborated that a cycle occupies lesser space, controls pollution and is a feasible alternative to travel.”However, we don’t cycle because it takes time and energy,” he said.
Working on the idea to reduce travel time and energy required during cycling, Jhanjhari researched various methods which can reduce friction and effort of cycling. “After trial and error method, I finally came up with a technique, which passed all the tests at SGSITS, and ready to be implemented,” he said.
He explains that his modified cycle can smoothly travel around 30 km in an hour. “A senior like me can easily cycle 25 km on this cycle in an hour, and a younger person can cycle 35 km perhaps,” he said.
He shared that he does not wish to sell the idea to a company, instead make it available to everyone at no profit by giving it to government. He has approached Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat with the idea.
“They did not reply back yet, and I am not sure how else can I make this cycle available to all,” he concluded.
