- News>
- Newspapers
Solar-powered rickshaws on the road: The Hindu
Jaipur, Apr 04: They did not exactly look like the chariots of the sun god but appeared functional and roadworthy, besides being a lot environment friendly.
Jaipur, Apr 04: They did not exactly look like the chariots of the sun god but appeared functional and roadworthy, besides being a lot environment friendly.
The solar-powered rickshaws, for the introduction of which the former ruler of Mewar would be perhaps remembered by posterity, made a formal road run in the Rajasthan capital today.
The event, which was marked by a polo match between Solar East and Solar West at the Rambagh Polo Grounds here, was the official start of the first international solar rickshaw rally. The match was inaugurated by the former Queen Mother, Gayatri Devi of Jaipur.
First displayed at Mumbai in November 2002, during a clean energy and power workshop, the solar cycle-rickshaws this time are on a 10-day rally across Rajasthan to reach the City Palace in Udaipur on April 11. There are seven of them marked Udaipur No.1, Udaipur No.2 and so on... in various shapes and colours — and one even resembles a mini car — indicating the evolution and emergence of the solar rickshaws in India.
"We are concerned about the climatic changes that are taking place, particularly in Rajasthan, where we had no rains for the past five years," Arvind Singh Mewar, the former ruler, who is the chairman and managing trustee of the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), told newspersons here. "The rally is an attempt to attract public attention to alternative sources of energy that are not only available but are being developed. If the concept is accepted by society it will be a major step forward in the development of eco-friendly surface transportation," Mr. Singh observed.
"This is not a rich man's toy," Mr. Singh said driving home the usefulness of the vehicle for the common man.
"It would provide livelihood to lot of people and, at the same time, keep the environment clean."
The Pichola Lake in Udaipur, which is now a fossil fuel free zone, has solar boats ferrying visitors to the Lake Palace. Now the Udaipur roads will have solar rickshaws.
"In the west we are wedded to the motor car. While looking for environment friendly vehicles we thought about cycle-rickshaws which are very common in India," explained Malcolm Moss, the British environmentalist, who developed the world's first solar-powered boat in 1995 — now floating in the Pichola Lake — and successfully experimented with the solar rickshaws.
The event, which was marked by a polo match between Solar East and Solar West at the Rambagh Polo Grounds here, was the official start of the first international solar rickshaw rally. The match was inaugurated by the former Queen Mother, Gayatri Devi of Jaipur.
First displayed at Mumbai in November 2002, during a clean energy and power workshop, the solar cycle-rickshaws this time are on a 10-day rally across Rajasthan to reach the City Palace in Udaipur on April 11. There are seven of them marked Udaipur No.1, Udaipur No.2 and so on... in various shapes and colours — and one even resembles a mini car — indicating the evolution and emergence of the solar rickshaws in India.
"We are concerned about the climatic changes that are taking place, particularly in Rajasthan, where we had no rains for the past five years," Arvind Singh Mewar, the former ruler, who is the chairman and managing trustee of the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), told newspersons here. "The rally is an attempt to attract public attention to alternative sources of energy that are not only available but are being developed. If the concept is accepted by society it will be a major step forward in the development of eco-friendly surface transportation," Mr. Singh observed.
"This is not a rich man's toy," Mr. Singh said driving home the usefulness of the vehicle for the common man.
"It would provide livelihood to lot of people and, at the same time, keep the environment clean."
The Pichola Lake in Udaipur, which is now a fossil fuel free zone, has solar boats ferrying visitors to the Lake Palace. Now the Udaipur roads will have solar rickshaws.
"In the west we are wedded to the motor car. While looking for environment friendly vehicles we thought about cycle-rickshaws which are very common in India," explained Malcolm Moss, the British environmentalist, who developed the world's first solar-powered boat in 1995 — now floating in the Pichola Lake — and successfully experimented with the solar rickshaws.