Any campaign espousing as noble a cause as the fight against corruption has a natural destination in the city.
Former judge of the Supreme Court V.R. Krishna Iyer has always kept the doors of his house, Satgamaya, open to such campaigners. Driving in through the open gate to that house on Tuesday in a rather strange looking four-wheeler was Solar Ahmed aka Syed Sajjad Ahmed.
True to his name, which he derived from his penchant for solar energy, Mr. Ahmed had come in a vehicle driven by solar energy. Free of frills, it had two chairs for seats, solar panels in the front, back and on the top, a battery to store energy, and of course, four wheels.
His day was made as Mr. Iyer came out, listened to him, and posed for a photograph near the car. By his own admission, Mr. Ahmed's visit from Bangalore had twin objectives: to express solidarity with the anti-corruption campaign of India Against Corruption and to propagate the utility of solar energy. Unsurprisingly, a poster of Anna Hazare adorned his car.
Mr. Ahmed was supposed to drive all the way from Bangalore. But to keep up with his schedule, he travelled up to Kochi by train, bringing the car along with him, before driving his way to Kothamangalam. He, however, is determined to drive back to Bangalore to fulfil the campaign on road covering 1,000 km, spearheaded by India Against Corruption.
Mr. Ahmed waxed eloquent when asked about his innovative car. The car, he said, was only a successor to the string of his other innovations including an electric autorickshaw and solar scooter. The car has been made out of what he refers to as “junk” items and cost him about Rs. 70,000. But to make it of superior parts will take the cost beyond Rs. 1 lakh, he said.
It runs by solar energy besides storing the energy in battery to run another 35 km. It packs a speed of 20 km/h, which was in fact brought down from a previous 25-35 km/h to increase the mileage.
“Innovations here go unrecognized. Politicians give us a pat on the back and then forget us,” Mr. Ahmed complained.
Hopefully, this campaign will bring his innovation the much needed attention.