Indian mechanic invents ‘social distancing’ motorbike
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Indian mechanic invents ‘social distancing’ motorbike

South Asia

BSS/AFP
30 April, 2020, 12:25 pm
Last modified: 30 April, 2020, 12:34 pm

Related News

  • India restricts sugar exports at 10 million tonnes
  • Worry as India to limit sugar export
  • Tata Steel says India export tax could alter output targets
  • India’s billionaire race sees one tycoon pulling away
  • India says 'substantive outcomes' from Biden, Modi talks

Indian mechanic invents ‘social distancing’ motorbike

His new bike runs on battery power and has a top speed of 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph)

BSS/AFP
30 April, 2020, 12:25 pm
Last modified: 30 April, 2020, 12:34 pm
Partha Saha, 39, bought an old bike from a scrap dealer, removed the engine and cut the machine in two before affixing a rod slightly longer than a metre (3.2 feet) to connect the wheels. Photo: AFP via BSS
Partha Saha, 39, bought an old bike from a scrap dealer, removed the engine and cut the machine in two before affixing a rod slightly longer than a metre (3.2 feet) to connect the wheels. Photo: AFP via BSS

An Indian school drop-out has built a motorbike with a one-metre gap between the rider and the passenger to drive home the importance of social distancing in the coronavirus pandemic.

Partha Saha, 39, bought an old bike from a scrap dealer, removed the engine and cut the machine in two before affixing a rod slightly longer than a metre (3.2 feet) to connect the wheels.

"Now I can ride with my eight-year-old daughter while maintaining a safe distance," he told AFP from Agartala in the northeastern state of Tripura.

Like other countries, the Indian government has imposed a nationwide lockdown and urged citizens to practise social distancing to curb the spread of the virus.

As of Thursday, India had reported 33,050 cases of Covid-19, with 1,074 deaths.

When the nation extended its lockdown this month until at least May 3, Saha realised the battle against the virus might not be over any time soon.

He used up his meagre savings to make the vehicle, which he plans to use to ferry his daughter to and from school once the restrictions are lifted.

"I didn't want her to take the school bus as it would be crowded," said Saha, who works in a TV repair shop.

His new bike runs on battery power and has a top speed of 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph).

It takes three hours to charge the battery, which allows the bike to travel 80 kilometres (50 miles), Saha said.

"The cost of charging it once comes to about 10 rupees (13 cents)," he added.

The mechanic has already tried out his invention on the streets, leaving onlookers stunned at the design and drawing praise from Biplab Kumar Deb, Tripura's chief minister.

"Necessity is the mother of invention! I congratulate Partha Saha… for making a unique motorcycle to create awareness during Covid-19 pandemic," Deb tweeted.

Coronavirus chronicle / Top News / World+Biz

social distancing / bike / India

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • The war has blocked Ukraine’s grain exports by sea, cutting off vital supplies for countries from Somalia to Egypt.Photographer: Islam Safwat/Bloomberg
    Russia is winning from the global food crisis it helped create
  • PM for protecting environment during implementation of development projects
    PM for protecting environment during implementation of development projects
  • Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Picture: Collected
    Pakistan govt plans to arrest Imran Khan, top PTI leaders

MOST VIEWED

  • Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Picture: Collected
    Pakistan govt plans to arrest Imran Khan, top PTI leaders
  • A man counts Pakistani banknotes along a roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
    Pakistani rupee nosedives against US dollar as political crisis deepens
  • Deployed police officers gather at the Red Zone for security measures, ahead of the planned protest march towards Islamabad by ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad, Pakistan May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT
    Pak police fire teargas, baton-charge supporters of ousted PM Imran Khan
  • Imran Khan says 'no blockade can stop' Azadi March as Pak govt cracks down on PTI workers
    Imran Khan says 'no blockade can stop' Azadi March as Pak govt cracks down on PTI workers
  • A currency trader counts Pakistani rupee notes as he prepares an exchange of dollars in Islamabad, Pakistan December 11, 2017. REUTERS/Caren Firouz/Files
    Default threat reaches Pakistan as political crisis deepens
  • A labourer carries a sack filled with sugar to load it onto a supply truck at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
    India restricts sugar exports at 10 million tonnes

Related News

  • India restricts sugar exports at 10 million tonnes
  • Worry as India to limit sugar export
  • Tata Steel says India export tax could alter output targets
  • India’s billionaire race sees one tycoon pulling away
  • India says 'substantive outcomes' from Biden, Modi talks

Features

Psycure has received various awards for their extraordinary contributions to promoting Sustainable Development Goals. Photo: Courtesy

Psycure: Meet the organisation serving the underserved university students (and beyond) with mental healthcare 

7h | Panorama
Underlying problems such as school dropouts need to be addressed first before taking a legal route to stop child labour. Photo: Reuters

‘Child labour in a country like Bangladesh is primarily a development issue, not so much of enforcement’

9h | Panorama
The balcony railings of the Boro Sardar Bari in Sonargaon. Made of cast iron, these railings feature vertical posts with intricate designs on top. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

The evolution of railing and grille designs

1d | Habitat
A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

1d | Analysis

More Videos from TBS

Soaring commodity prices put pressure on budget

Soaring commodity prices put pressure on budget

3h | Videos
The alarming effects of the global food crisis

The alarming effects of the global food crisis

6h | Videos
Mangoes from Satkhira going to Iraq

Mangoes from Satkhira going to Iraq

7h | Videos
The dream of building home on moon

The dream of building home on moon

8h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

4
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

5
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

6
Illustration: TBS
Banking

Let taka slide

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab