PUNE: To help her brother fight his disability and attend school daily, a 16-year-old Baramati girl, Mayuri Popat Yadav, invented an innovative makeshift wheelchair cycle. The cycle helps her brother comfortably commute to school every day.
Mayuri, who is a student of Class X in Anand Vidyalaya at Hol, Baramati, made a wheelchair-cum-cycle for her 13-year-old brother Nikhil as he used to often miss his classes whenever their father was not around to drop him.
Concerned about her brother’s studies, she decided to help him with this unconventional idea of joining her cycle with his wheelchair and bringing him every day to school which is one km from her place.
Mayuri said, “My brother is growing up and it is not comfortable and convenient for my father to lift him and hold him on the scooter every time he goes to school. At times when my father is not around, he misses his classes. So I thought of this idea to take my brother to school with me and discussed it with my teachers and principal and everyone gladly supported me.”
Anand Vidyalaya Principal AS Atar said, “Mayuri’s brother Nikhil is very good at studies but due to his disability he used to miss his classes whenever his father is not there. Thus Mayuri came up with this novel idea. Initially, we were hesitant as we thought it is not possible but later science teachers Jairam Pawar and Vasikar thoroughly discussed the idea with her and the technical team of our school and got it implemented.”
“This innovative cycle was recently exhibited at district-level science exhibition held at Nasrapur and is also selected for the state-level competition,” Atar added.
Science teacher Jairam Pawar said, “Six months ago, Mayuri came to us with an idea to join her bicycle and wheelchair so that she can bring her brother to school every day and we discussed this with the technical team of our school and joined the cycle with the wheelchair by welding and made a couple of modifications to ensure the safety of her brother. It took almost a week to finish the work.”
The wheels of cycle and wheelchair are modified and the brake system of the cycle is well connected with the wheels of the cycle and also to both wheels of the wheelchair to ensure balance and safety.
There is a belt attached to the wheelchair so that her brother is comfortably and safely strapped to the wheelchair.
Nikhil said, “I am really happy that my sister created this innovative wheelchair-cum-cycle for me and I also feel that there should be more such innovations to create infrastructure and facilities for the disabled so that they get an equal opportunity like everyone else.”
(With inputs by Neha Basudkar)
