BAGLUNG, Oct 27: A 16-year-old has surprised one and all in Baglung with the successful trial run Tuesday of his indigenous solar vehicle.
Kushal KC, a 10th grader at local Amrit Adarsha Higher Secondary School, paraded his vehicle around Baglung to the approval of a massive crowd gathered on roadsides throughout the town. Born in Binamare-7, Kushal has no formal training nor did he take help from any technician in making his solar vehicle, which includes a battery, a motor and solar panels.
Kushal, who had earlier made a ´helicopter´ and displayed it in Pokhara and Kathmandu, took just 40 days to put together the solar vehicle with materials bought in China and India. He has placed six 20-watt panels at the front, rear and roof of the vehicle and these can power it even in the absence of battery as long as there is sunlight. It has to use a battery during darkness.
"I have made this vehicle to help reduce pollution and global warming," KC said, claiming that the vehicle can hit a speed of 60kmph. "In the next five years I will make others that can compete with petrol cars in performance," he told mediapersons gathered at his school.
He has sought government help for getting his name into the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest person to make such a vehicle and his school principal, Mahesh Chandra Pradhan, promised to take the initiative for that.
Kushal´s father Bhim KC says they had a torrid time putting together the Rs 600,000 required for making the vehicle. "NAST (Nepal Academy of Science and Technology) provided Rs 10,000 while the school helped collect Rs 200,000. We even had to take out a loan to cover the rest of the cost," says KC.
Kushal´s school and different organizations felicitated him on Tuesday but his father regrets that no one has come forward to help him in his mission.
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Kushal, who had earlier made a ´helicopter´ and displayed it in Pokhara and Kathmandu, took just 40 days to put together the solar vehicle with materials bought in China and India. He has placed six 20-watt panels at the front, rear and roof of the vehicle and these can power it even in the absence of battery as long as there is sunlight. It has to use a battery during darkness.
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