Jharkhand undergrad illuminates village with his power-packed ‘jugaad’

Express News Service

RANCHI:  Troubled by frequent power cuts, Kedar Prasad Mahto, a 33-year old undergraduate in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh, succeeded in making a turbine on a rivulet flowing near his village through ‘jugaad’ after 18 years of hard work.The handmade turbine is now generating 5KW electricity, which is illuminating the streets and a temple in the village.

Mahto said he decided to generate power way back in 2004, when he was in school, out of curiosity and succeeded in generating 12 volts of electricity. There was no looking back after that. “I kept on working on my project and did first experiment at Amjharia on Senegarha River, about a kilometer from my village Byang, which was washed away in the rainwater.

Then I started again by making a concrete column in the middle of the river and fitted a turbine, along with armature, magnet, coil and other parts, and finally succeeded,” he said. This handmade turbine has a capacity of illuminating 40-45 bulbs of 100 watts at a time, he added. Mahto devoted 18 years to make the turbine, dynamo and generator on his own and became so involved in the project that he could not even complete his graduation.

“Due to my interests in the field, I started working as an electrician, which later became my source of income. Whatever money I save, I invest on my passion,” said Mahto, adding that he has spent nearly `3 lakh on this project from his pocket. “My idea is to make my village self-sufficient in power generation and illuminate every nook and corner of it,” he said.

Initially, Mahto’s family members were against his dedication to the project, but gradually, they have started appreciating his talent. Locals are also fuill of praise for him.  “We are proud of him. I believe if he is provided support by the state government, he will succeed in illuminating the entire region,” said a villager. Village head Suraj Nath Bhokta also appreciated Mahto. “Recently, when there was power cut during Sarasati Puja, it was Kedar who provided electricity to illuminate the puja pandal,” he said.