Farm labourer builds well-lifter machine entirely from scrap

Hemmadi: Necessity is the mother of all invention or so goes a popular adage. The same applies to a farm laborer based in Hakladi who invented a well-lifter machine, all from discarded scrap parts.

Chandrashekar Mogaveera of Hakladi Gudde in the Hakladi village of Kundapur wanted to construct a well on his property to water around 100 coconut saplings during the lean months. But digging up one was labor-intensive. He found that the labor cost was too high and wouldn’t fit his budget. This pushed the farm laborer to build his own well lift machine to replace manual labor.

Chandrashekhar says he visited various scrap dealers collecting scrap parts that could be used to build the machine for lifting the dug-up mud from the well. He purchased the iron bar, rod, steel cable, and electric motor — all for Rs 70,000. Within a month of collecting everything that was needed, he completed the entire build.

The machine can lift 3 to 4 soil-filled baskets per minute and can bear a 250 kg load, Chandrashekar said. Using his invention he successfully dug up a 24-foot well and found water for his crop.

Chandrasekhara is a jack of all trades.  Apart from working as a driver, he also works as a building and masonry laborer, and also assists in small electrical works. His hands-on experience in various fields has helped him to invent different machines. He had also built a sand screening and sorting machine earlier.