As a sizeable crowd watched, Ahmed Rizauddin, a class 10 student, demonstrated his amphibious bicycle, one of the winning exhibits at this year’s edition of Inspire Awards, on Tuesday at the Mangala Swimming Pool.
His “invention” involved two tubes that cover the rims of a cycle, ensuring water doesn’t enter the tyres. The spokes of the back wheel were replaced with flippers that powered the vehicle forward with each pedal.
Though the much publicised event – with a coterie of media personnel present and a press conference after – did not provide anything unique, Francis Pinto, headmistress of Infant Joyland English Medium School, where Rizauddin studies, said: “The child has a dyslexia-type problem, wherein he cannot write well. He doesn’t excel in studies, but shows an inclination towards making things.”
His parents – Abdul Rahman, who works in a construction company, and Asma – described Rizauddin’s penchant for “invention” as something that sees his room filled with dynamos, spanners and other devices. “He aims to be a mechanical engineer,” said his mother.
Rizauddin’s cycle will head towards Bangalore where it will compete with other chosen models for the ‘Inspire Award’.
