Tripura Man Designs 'COVID-19 Bike' To Highlight The Importance Of Social Distancing

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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Source/The Indian Express

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.

Source/The Indian Express

¡°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.