Lipsa pradhan. A 10th-grade student of Kashma village, under bhatli block of Bargad district. From such a young age she has a very high ambition and endless hope. She understands the people of her area and their problems very well.
The invention of the Mahul harvesting Machine
She has seen that when the summer comes, the farming families of western Odisha support the family by collect butternut or mahul flowers. From dawn to dusk they work very hard to collect these flowers from their fields. It’s profitable but it raises back injury in many cases.
Harvesting butternut flower is like a ritual for them. But there are no such machines for collecting these flowers. From the very ancient time, they used to burn the field before the flowers start falling, so that they can easily collect them from the clean ground. But this process is quite risky. Sometimes the fire spreads to nearby village and also burn many trees.
Lipsa, daughter of Bishikeshana Pradhan and Arati Pradhan of kamagaon has also suffered these problems from her childhood. So she thought of its solution for many times.
Finally, with the guidance of his science teacher Subodh Kumar Sahu and the inspiration and help of her parents, she created a machine. She first exhibited the machine in the block level science exhibition and got a huge applause for her efforts. This project was then got selected for the district level science exhibition.
This small project of Lipsa has also gained recognition at the state and central levels. It also received scientific recognition. This machine is very cost-effective and very useful for farmers. Scientists also give their consent that more production is possible in less time by this machine.
Awards and honors
This butternut collection machine was nominated for the ‘APJ Abdul Kalam Ignite Award’. Also, she was awarded by the former President of India Pranab Mukherjee at a grand ceremony at the IIM premises in Ahmedabad, where her parents were also present. The family said that they are very proud of their daughter’s achievements. Not only her parents but also every resident of her village and every student and headmaster of her school are also very proud of her.
When a woman jumps on the limit of the house, success touches her feet. And again it is proved that women are not week.
