Among the great quotes on invention, there is one by Hall of Fame American inventor and businessman Thomas Alva Edison: "To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk". A Hadwara resident Imtiyaz Ahmed identifies with this quote to a tee for he has creatively applied his mind and hands to create an auto rickshaw out of junk.
Brighter Kashmir met Imtiyaz to find out what propelled him towards making this unique mode of transport.
"I always had a desire to have an auto rickshaw. But when I approached showrooms and enquired about its availability and cost, they told me it would cost at least Rs 3 lakh --- a sum of money which I did not have. It was a conscious decision on my part that since I cannot afford to pay such a huge sum for an auto rickshaw, why not explore cheaper options including the idea of making it myself,” Imtiyaz said.
“I went home. I had an old Bajaj Chetak two-wheeler, which I brought out from the shed, and had some spare bike and scooter parts, which I used to create my auto rickshaw," he said.
Imtiyaz revealed that it just took 15 days to create his maroon and white-coloured auto-rickshaw. “It will take me another 10 days to install side windows, doors and give it finishing touches.”
"I have spent around Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 so far on this project and expect to spend a little more. I have included aluminum sheets, headlights, nuts and bolts. This project needed welding without which I could not have created it. I did this welding myself and did not go anywhere else to get it done,” he said.
According to Imtiyaz, his auto-rickshaw can take five passengers.
“I have lived in this village for 35 years and there have been many machinery shops here. I have been taking the discarded spares from them. I have installed the scooter's body and engine, a 135 cc Bajaj Pulser steering, wheels taken from a discarded Hero Honda Splendour, and used shocker pipes to make its axle and disc brakes," he said.
Imtiyaz said he could come up with better products if the government comes forward to help him. “It is my aim to create affordable products for the less privileged and poorer sections of society”.
“I want the poor and underprivileged to benefit from my experiments and inventions. Offering them items at a reasonable and affordable cost is a dream of mine," he said.
As 6th century BCE Chinese philosopher and teacher Confucius has famously said, "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated".