Unquestionably, the plight of poor rickshaw-pullers who pedal all day long, all for a meager income
that barely sustains their families, is pathetic. But not any longer, thanks to
CSIR’s path-breaking work in designing solar powered, non-polluting
modern rickshaw that is poised to erase forever the poverty and drudgery so
deeply linked to this occupation. Christened as ‘Soleckshaw’ — the new avatar of the old rickshaw — this unique vehicle is a product of the research efforts of CSIR
scientists working at the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute
(CMERI), Durgapur. The credit goes to the scientific team of this project at CMERI,
comprising the Principal Investigator, Mr. A. J. Banerjee, and other key
players, namely Mr. Palash
Prior
to cycle rickshaws of the present day, runner-pulled rickshaws were in
vogue that personified helplessness and sheer submission to such unhealthy
practice. In fact, the word ‘rickshaw’ has originated from the Japanese word jinrikisha
which means ‘human-powered vehicle’. Soleckshaw
has come to the rescue of millions of rickshaw-pullers in
the country, for it promises to reduce the human effort in steering the vehicle
while being a faster means of transport than the traditional rickshaw and is
also environment-friendly.
Soleckshaw is one of the classic examples that
testifies CSIR‘s commitment to translate its meaningful technologies into
relevant products and services for the common man through the CSIR 800
initiative — a pragmatic approach of reaching out to 800 million economically
weak, less privileged people of the country. Soleckshaw is a promising
product of CSIR that has born out of this vision.
Solekshaw has been so designed that mere manual ‘pedal pushing’ of rickshaw would get
transformed to ‘driving’ a rickshaw as the latter is equipped with a
solar-powered electric motor that assists the pedal drive.
Having a battery panel
and a specially designed 240-350 W,
36-volt solar battery-powered electric motor, weighing about 5 kg, this new rickshaw effectively
harnesses solar energy that actually brings movement to the vehicle's chain
drive. The rear wheels of soleckshaw are
manually driven while the front wheel is driven by the motor, which is mounted
on the wheel. The specifically designed brush
less direct-current (BLDC) motor has been developed for the first time
in India by the Crompton Greaves based on the specifications provided by CMERI.
The motor is having a proper braking system. Plying
in Durgapur, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh,
Jaipur, Ranchi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, Soleckshaw is slowly making
its presence felt in different parts of the country.
Reducing the effort made by its
driver to minimum, Soleckshaw can carry a load of as much as 200 kg that
is about two or three passengers. It also has a sturdier frame and is equipped with FM radio, while
having power-sockets for charging mobile phones during the ride. The solar
battery, weighing around 15 kg, is placed under the passenger’s seat.
Interestingly, the ‘pedicab’ has additional features like head-light, a tail
lamp and indicators. It also has a low footboard that is user-friendly
especially helpful for children, senior citizens and the disabled. With a top speed of 15 Km per hour,
a fully charged solar battery of Soleckshaw can ferry passengers for up
to 50-70
Kms
that is quite impressive.
However,
this design of rickshaw does not have a solar charging mechanism integrated
into it, which is why replenishing/charging stations, which house the solar panels, are needed for the purpose of recharging the batteries. A battery takes about 5-6 hours for charging. According to Dr Gautam Biswas, former Director, CMERI, setting up
of solar charging stations is quite costly. The Central Electronics Limited, (CEL), a
Govt. of India undertaking is authorized to
set up such stations in India. The Kolkata-based INSILICA is also ready for
setting up solar charging stations, where a used battery could be replaced with a charged one. On the
other hand, solar panels can be added while
manufacturing the Soleckshaws, but understandably, this would raise the
cost of each rickshaw. Usually a 1 m x 1.5 m panel is capable of producing 300
W that is needed to power a Soleckshaw.
Apart
from the chassis, the sub-assemblies that need to be manufactured include the
differential drive, the special hub motor and the light weight solar panel. CSIR has so far transferred the license for manufacture of soleckshaws
to many companies that include Modular Machines, Faridabad, Dean Systems, Kolkata;
HBL Power Systems Ltd, Hyderabad and Stilam Automobiles Pvt Ltd., Gurgaon.
The main body
structure of the scientifically-designed Soleckshaw has been customized
in different models that suit different terrains and purposes. Unlike the
existing rickshaws, Soleckshaw can be driven easily both on the plains
as well as uphill, without any risk of imbalance. Moreover, different materials
have been tested for optimising the most suitable design, thanks to the team of
CMERI scientists working on this project tirelessly. The Mark I version of soleckshaw,
designed and developed by CMERI was the one that was launched in Delhi in
October 2008 by the then Hon. Chief Minister of Delhi, Mrs Sheila Dikshit and
Mr Kapil Sibal, who was the then Minister of Science and Technology and Earth
Sciences.
With
focus on designing slimmer and lighter versions of soleckshaw, CMERI
scientists have also developed the Mark II soleckshaw with one of its
model having a solar panel on top. It is faster than Mark 1 model, as it can
reach a speed of up to 30 Km per hour. A still advanced version, Mark III soleckshaw,
is poised to be more spacious family vehicle having reclined seats and
aerodynamic body. Besides reducing the physical stress of present-day rickshaw
pullers and providing them a decent employment with higher economic returns, soleckshaw
would help mitigate global warming as well, as this public transport vehicle is
free from carbon dioxide emission and its large-scale use is poised to reduce
our dependence on polluting vehicles like auto-rickshaws that use fossil fuels.
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