‘Necessity is the mother of inventions’: Odisha farmer’s solar car gets thumbs-up online

A farmer from Odisha has grabbed the attention of people on social media with his electric four-wheeler that runs on a solar-powered battery.

Sushil Agarwal from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district had built a four-wheeler powered by an 850 Watts motor and 100 Ah/ 54 Volts of battery. When fully charged, the vehicle can reportedly travel up to 300 km.

Agarwal told news agency ANI that he built the car inside a workshop at his home during the Covid-19 lockdown.

“I was at my home when the lockdown restrictions were imposed. I knew soon the fuel prices will shoot up once the lockdown restrictions will be lifted. So I decided to build my own car which could also keep me occupied,” said Agarwal.

“All the work on this vehicle including motor winding, electrical fitting and chassis work were done in my workshop with the help of two other mechanics and a friend who advised me on electric works,” he added.

Take a look here:

Odisha: A farmer in Mayurbhanj has built a four-wheeled electric vehicle that runs on battery & charged using solar power

“I have a workshop at home. During COVID lockdown, I began working there to create this. It can run for 300km after full charge,” said Sushil Agarwal (13.03) pic.twitter.com/psMT8YAdzA

— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2021

Many who came across pictures of the electric car lauded Agarwal for his skill and creativity. Take a look at some of the reactions here:

Necessity is the mother of inventions.

— Frontal Assault (@AssaultFrontal) March 14, 2021

WOW…Great…Keep it up…Jai ShriRam

— chowkidarGirishVSingla (@ggnvs) March 14, 2021

@anandmahindra

Look at the effort!!. If infrastructure n latest technology is given, this people can do wonders. @narendramodi

— The Nationalist (@AnoopKgkg1515) March 14, 2021

Real farmers and enviromentalists.

— Diva (@Benaam23) March 14, 2021

Great! Keep it up 👏

— Komal Saini (@Komal_Saini911) March 14, 2021

Real farmers doing 💯 % POSITIVE .

— Anil Singh (@anil5152) March 14, 2021

See, real farmers grow and build stuff 😁😁

— Woke Detector (@WokeDetector) March 14, 2021

Real farmers busy doing innovations… 🙏

— Soni (✿^‿^) 🦋✨💫 (@vj_soni) March 14, 2021

The solar-powered battery takes around 8 and a half hours to be fully charged. “It is a slow charging battery. Such batteries have a long life, it will last 10 years,” Agarwal added.

(With inputs from ANI)