Khammam: High fuel prices ignite Inter student’s ingenuity, develops e-vehicle

Chandrakhani Gopalakrishna develops battery-operated mini-truck for farm operations

Khammam: Ever-increasing prices of petrol and diesel ignited the creativity of a student in the district to design and fabricate a battery-powered mini transport vehicle, which is earning him accolades from all.

Meet Chandrakani Gopalakrishna, studying Intermediate (MPC) second year at Khammam-based RJC Junior College and belongs to Mucherla village of Kamepally mandal. He divides his time attending college and looking after his family’s farming as his father, C Venkanna, died a few years ago.

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As hiring vehicles for transportation of workers, fertilisers and harvest became financially burdensome, Gopalakrishna developed a vehicle that runs on diesel sometime back. Since its maintenance turned costly with increasing fuel prices, he converted it into a battery-operated vehicle recently.

The vehicle can carry a load of five quintals and has a range of 80 kilometres of mileage on a single charge which costs around Rs 10. It is equipped with a 48 volt 1,000 watts brushless DC electric (BLDC) motor powered by four batteries, Gopalakrishna told Telangana Today on Saturday.

The vehicle has a speed of 42 kilometres per hour and anyone can easily maneuver it on narrow and mud roads in the villages. ‘I had drawn a detailed design scheme on paper before the vehicle fabrication at a local welding shop and made required changes in the process’. Rs 50,000 was spent on manufacturing the vehicle and parts required have been procured from local and Vijayawada markets. Besides personal use, the vehicle is being given on hire for locals at a cost-effective price and the locals are very much happy to travel in it, he explained.

Gopalakrishna said he is now engaged in developing a mini-tractor for ploughing and other purposes. Fitted with a 5 horsepower diesel engine it is designed in such a manner that it will consume only one litre of diesel to plough one acre of land or for three hours of running time, he said.

A cost of around Rs 60,000 to 70,000 may incur in developing the mini-tractor which can save around Rs 1,000 for ploughing an acre of land. The vehicle may be ready in a week, he said while revealing his plans that he wants to pursue BTech (Mechanical) after completing Intermediate.

The Chairman of RJC Junior College, Gundala Krishna recently felicitated Gopalakrishna for his engineering ingenuity. Speaking to this newspaper, he expressed happiness at his student’s success and said his college always encourages innovativeness among students.

He said a Professor at Swarna Bharathi Institute of Technology (SBIT), Satyanarayana, who did research in rechargeable batteries, has been asked to act as a mentor to the student assisting him to enhance the battery life.

Krishna, who is also the Chairman of SBIT, expressed his readiness to extend financial and research assistance to Gopalakrishna if he joins the institute to study mechanical engineering, which the student aspires to.