Thanks To One Man's Innovation, A Jharkhand Village Gets Free Electricity From River Water

Kamil Topno does not have an engineering degree. But the undergraduate who hails from Thakurain Dera village in Lohardaga, Jharkhand, has been able to bring power to at least 20 houses using river water. The water falls from a 100-foot hillock not far from his village, as per a report in The New Indian Express.

?¡°That¡¯s what my teacher had told me in school,¡± he said. He works as a lab technician at the BCCL hospital in Dhanbad.

The 'jugaad' machine is made of rickshaw wheels and then Pelton-wheel. It converts energy of water falling from a height into electricity which is is supplied throughout the day, seven days a week and does not cost a penny.

Express

The village got power in 2018, but it was so erratic that villagers are now using the Topno method to light their homes and charge their mobiles.

¡°I started the project in 2013-14 but succeeded a year later. Initially, I used rickshaw wheels fitted with a dynamo for extracting electricity which was not so efficient when the flow of water was slow,¡± he added.

¡°I hit upon the idea when I was jobless and feared if I shared by idea, people would laugh at me. I started it silently, but when I succeeded, I shared my little invention with villagers who were very happy. I failed twice and had to lose around Rs 10,000. But I did not lose heart and finally succeeded in 2015,¡± he went on to say.

PTI (Representational)

Topno has earned praise from those in authority. ¡°Topno has really done a wonderful job,¡± said Mukhiya Sumitra Lakra of Deodharia Panchayat.

By using his wit and innovation, Topno found a unique way to keep the village from going dark.