Ambala, December 13
Dream it, achieve it — that’s what these two ‘thinking’ men from Haryana have shown to the country. Winners of the prestigious Fifth Biennial Grassroots Technological Innovation and Traditional Knowledge Award, Dharamveer Kamboj (46) from Yamunanagar and Gopal Kumar Saluja (49) from Ambala are ordinary men, who have extraordinary zeal to give shape to their dreams.
The competition saw ‘clash’ of more than 37,000 novel ideas from different states and UTs for awards which are given in five categories. Finally, after much deliberations, 72 entries were selected, with the Haryana duo featuring prominently on the winners’ list.
For Dharamveer, winning the award is a dream come true. His village, Damla, is equally thrilled at his feat. The man, who feels that the award is for the thinking farmer, has developed a multipurpose unit capable of pulverising, steaming and extracting gels for herbal applications. The specially designed pressure-cooking chamber is used by him to extract essence from Aloe vera. Being a compact and a portable unit, it can be quickly and easily transported. The machine has a capacity to process 100 kg of Aloe vera per hour. Each unit costs Rs 1.20 lakh and he has sold 7 units so far under the brand name ‘Prince’(it is after his son’s name).
Dharamveer earns his livelihood by making and selling value-added products from different herbs, fruits and vegetables. He has also given employment to over two dozen women at his manufacturing unit.
For Gopal Kumar Saluja, six years of struggle has finally paid off. He has been awarded the consolation prize in the household category for his ceiling cooler.
An upgrade of the ceiling fan, this unique cooler comprises a ceiling fan, a submersible water pump with motor and a cylindrical water container having arrangement for continuous water drip, as used in desert coolers.
The journey from mind to market was not easy for Saluja, who even had to forsake his shop of electric appliances to pursue his dream. “I chose to stay at home and work on my idea,” he states.
The idea came to him in 2003 when on one hot summer afternoon he saw his entire family sweating in the unbearable heat.
It took a lot of patience and many gruelling sessions at the makeshift workshop before Saluja could finally realise his dream. “I was amazed to see its output and the cooling effect,” quips the innovator. However, he found no takers
for his product till he wrote to the then President Dr Abdul Kalam, who directed him to NIF, Jaipur. “He changed my life by showing me the right direction,” says Saluja, who has already got an order for 5,000 coolers and a patent. A businessman from West Bengal has shown keen interest in his cooler.
The ceiling cooler costs Rs 7,000 and comes with a remote and facilities like temperature control and automatic water supply. “It is eco-friendly and the cooling output will fail an AC,” claims Saluja with sense of pride.
