Unfazed By His Disability, Ganesh Murugan Now Delivers Food On His Motorised Wheelchair

Turning his adversity into an opportunity, Ganesh Murugan, 37, from Chennai, is a traffic stopper as he rides his?new motorized electric wheelchair to deliver food.?Murugan, who had a spinal cord injury, is India’s first wheelchair food delivery person.?

Thanks to a motorized electric wheelchair designed by a start-up at IIT Madras, people with disabilities can now chase their dreams without setbacks.

What is unique about the two-in-one motorized wheelchair?

Pushing a button makes it simple to detach the wheelchair. It has considerable independent last-mile access in the rear and can be folded into a basic wheelchair.?This feature allows Ganesh to access restaurants and high-rise buildings to collect and distribute food.

Ganesh's story:

Ganesh had been working from home for seven years due to a spinal cord injury. In 2006, he was hit by a truck.

While Ganesh used a modified scooter for commuting, he always carried a wheelchair and required help to get transferred from the vehicle to the wheelchair or back to the vehicle.?But thanks to the new super-vehicle, Ganesh says he can earn an additional Rs 6,000 for distributing food part-time.?

Ganesh is excited about his new dreams.?He was quoted as saying,?

Talking to NDTV, Ganesh said, "Recently, I had to deliver on the 10th floor in Ambattur. I didn’t ask the customer to come down. I took off the front wheel and took the lift. Climbed in as much as it could Wheelchair The customer was very impressed. I also enjoyed the experience, and the customer was happy too."

Rajaram, who is just a short distance from Ganesh, shares a similar story.?Since Rajaram is orthopedically disabled due to polio, he partnered with Zomato under the Delivery by Cycle category.?Now, Rajaram feeds people in North Chennai and?earns Rs. 9,000.?

Who is making these digitized wheelchairs?

The start-up, Neomotion Assistive Solutions Private Limited, founded by three students and a faculty member from IIT Madras, is the brainchild behind this innovative motorized vehicle.

This vehicle can easily cruise at a speed of 25 kmph. While it takes 4 hours to charge, it can cover a distance of 25 km on a single charge.?

NeoMotion

The team is convinced that their innovative vehicle will help many.?The cost of a two-in-one vehicle is around Rs 1 lakh.?To make their vehicles a pan-India success so that they can give life to more dreams, the founders are now incorporating their CSR funds to fund and empower the differently-abled who cannot afford the cost but can still benefit from it.?

As of now, the start-up has supplied around 1300 vehicles.?Out of these 1300, around 300 vehicles have got corporate sponsorship.?

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