In India, many families are still living below the poverty line. In search of bread for two days, sometimes young children have to work along with the parents. From factories to small hotels, you will see children working. But there are some organizations who are engaged in improving the lives of these children. Today we are going to tell you the story of such a promising child, who once used to work in a brick kiln, but now people know him as an inventor. This story is from Lachman Dundi of Odisha. Lachman Dundee, who once worked in a brick kiln with his parents, is now known as an innovator. Recently, in collaboration with the Government of Odisha, he started one of his companies (startup company entrepreneur industries) has also been registered, so that they can reach their innovations to the people.
Lachman, a resident of Kotmal village in Nuapada district of Odisha, is currently pursuing B.Sc in Physics. Along with this, he is also working on his innovation and startup. Talking to The Better India, he said, “I come from a very simple family. My parents are daily wage earners and I am also doing part time job since school time so that I can afford my education.”
Lachman’s parents own a small piece of land on which they plant paddy. After harvesting paddy, his family used to migrate to Andhra Pradesh in search of work. Here they used to work in brick kilns. Lachman says, “Those days were full of difficulties. But a local NGO, Lokdrusti He brought a ray of hope in my life. Lokdrusti The team took me out of the brick-kiln and took me to the school. I would have been 10 years old at that time. I was admitted to the school from the NGO and also got a hostel to stay,” he said.
had a keen interest in science
Lachman was good at studies and was particularly interested in science. He wanted to experiment on whatever he studied in school. His curiosity always inspired him to work out of the box. He says that he was in ninth or tenth standard and was studying at his home. But there was a lot of electricity problem in the village and because of this, he found it difficult to study at night. But because of this problem, he did not stop studying but instead looked for a solution to the problem.
He says, “I installed a dynamo on a bicycle and attached a bulb to it. So that electricity was generated when cycling and the bulb was lit from it. Then I could study. My love for electronics started growing. I started making something using only the electronic things lying around me in the junk. After 10th standard I went to study in Intercollege in Khariar. I was getting help from NGOs in my studies but simultaneously, I started doing small part time work.”
Bhubaneshwar Raut, a project head, Lokdrishti Sangathan, says, “Lachman has always had a different mindset. If there was any problem in someone’s car or if someone has to fix any electronic thing, then people used to contact him. But after class X, he started working on many ideas of his own. Like the first one was his miracle, lighting an electric bulb with the old 500 rupee note. He got a lot of appreciation for this work.”
When demonetisation happened in the year 2017, a thought came in his mind that what will happen to the old note now? “It was not that all the notes would be exchanged in time. That’s why I thought of doing something different so that people get an idea on how the left over notes can be used properly,” he said. At that time, Lachman made electricity from 500 rupee notes. He says that a 500 rupee note can make five volts of electricity.
Lachman says, “I used the silicon coating on the 500 rupee note to generate electricity. First put the silicon coating in direct sunlight and then it is connected to the transformer with the help of an electric wire so that the energy from silicon can be stored in it.” In the year 2017, his work was discussed a lot. The Prime Minister had also sought a report from the Odisha government on his project. However, this is not the only innovation that he did.
Currency Notes Sanitizer Machine
Even during college, Lachman has been continuously working on his ideas. They have made safety gadgets for women for the safety of girls. After wearing it, if anyone misbehaves with that girl or tries to touch her, then this gadget will give her a very strong shock. With this girls will be able to keep themselves safe. He says that the trial of safety gadgets for women is still going on.
Apart from this, he has made Wireless Charger. He told, “I went to Bhubaneswar once and put the phone in charging at the station. From there my phone was stolen. After the phone was stolen, I thought that there should be such a system that the phone can be charged even without a charger in the mobile. At the moment, I’ve only used this technique for myself. Many more people have contacted me to make this charger for them too. But I need a patent to make this technology on a large scale.”
Lachman says that he will soon apply for a patent for this technology. Apart from this, he has received the state level ‘Youth Innovation Award’ for this innovation. He also made ‘oxygen concentrator’ and currency notes sanitizer machine during the lockdown. Their currency note sanitizer machine not only sanitizes the notes, but also identifies the real and fake notes. “This machine can be used at railway stations, banks, petrol pumps etc. The trial of this machine was taken by the people of District Industries Center. At present, this machine is in use at a petrol pump in Kalahandi and a bank in Nuapada,” he said.
Anand Behera, Industries Promotion Officer, Khariar Block, says that he himself has taken a trial of the note sanitizing machine. This is a very good innovation. “Besides, they have also made a cheap ‘oxygen concentrator’. Which is still under testing. Lachman makes his devices using very different technology which can be useful to the common people. Right now he has also registered a startup of his own,” he said.
started startup
Lachman wanted to start a startup to take his innovation to the people. For this, he has also got help under the Odisha Startup Policy. He has registered his startup in the name of ‘Dundi Electronics and Electricals Pvt Ltd’. Apart from starting startups, he has also received NIDHI-EIR fellowship under KIIT-Technology Business Incubator Programme. Under this fellowship, he is working on an ‘intelligent bike’. Regarding this, he said, “It is such a bike, which will work on water energy and it will not require fuel. I hope to complete this work by March 2022.”
At the moment, due to the Corona pandemic and the lockdown, many of his ideas are not working. But Lachman says that gradually he will work on making devices for people according to their needs. If anyone is in need of a currency sanitizing machine, they can be contacted.
“I have struggled a lot in my life. Even now, I go to people’s place and do small tasks like fixing someone’s light, someone’s motor. But I hope that one day I will be able to bring my own made devices and gadgets to the people,” he concluded.
Arguably, Lachman Dundee is an inspiration to all of us as he never gave up under any circumstances and turned his ideas into reality. If you want to contact Lachman then you can email him at [email protected]
Editing – G N Jha
Also read: Video: Meet Abdul, the maker of devices like door alarm system, plant watering system
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