Currently, approximately half the world's population is under some sort of confinement or curfew recommendation to help fight the spread of COVID-19.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in India, social distancing is the only way to fight this calamity. To drive home this point, a man from Agartala designed an electric motorbike which he named ¡®COVID-19 bike¡¯, to delineate the importance of social distancing.
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Speaking to?The Indian Express, Partha Saha of Aralia village near Agartala said, "Watching everyone talk about social distancing, how important it is and how many people aren¡¯t following it made me think if I could attract their attention and send a message that social distancing is indeed serious."
"Accordingly, I modified a motorbike that runs on petrol by using bicycle sets as front and back seats keeping a one-meter distance from each other. And instead of the petrol engine, I used a DC motor of 750 Watt, a battery of 48 volts to convert it as an electric motorbike. And this motorbike is meant for spreading the message but not to serve a commercial purpose,¡± Saha told?HT.
He said that the main reason behind the 'COVID-19' bike was to find a way to safely pick up and drop his 9-year-old daughter to school as and when the lockdown is lifted. But Saha gave up the idea of thinking that seeking official permission to ride a 'unique' bike would be cumbersome.?
However, the report states that his bike did catch the attention of some local when he took it for a spin.?Tripura Principal Secretary (Transport), Laihlia Darlong, said a vehicle not tested for safety and security standards couldn¡¯t be allowed on the streets.
¡°There are many agencies appointed by the government that certifies whether a vehicle is suited for transport or not. Also, no vehicle once purchased and registered on Vahan database can be modified without permission. So, I am afraid it can¡¯t run on the roads for now,¡± Darlong told?The Indian Express.?
Partha Saha started his career as a mechanic and went onto to?become a technical instructor at an institute. He later made a shift to YouTube to push out tutorial videos.? His YouTube channel ¡®Technical Partha¡¯ has more than three lakh subscribers.?