Paddy filling machines, if successful, to be installed at all procurement centres

A class VIII boy’s ingenious invention is set to be adopted by the Civil Supplies Department at its Paddy Procurement Centres (PPCs) on a pilot basis.

A prototype of a paddy filling machine, used to fill paddy into bags, would be adopted with minor tweaks and installed at select PPCs. If successful, they would be installed at all the centres across the State, Civil Supplies Commissioner Akun Sabharwal said in a statement here on Saturday.

Abhishek, studying in Zilla Parishad High School at Hanumajipet village in Vemulawada mandal of Rajanna-Sircilla district, has already received accolades and prizes for his invention at Inspire Science Exhibition at regional and national levels.

On Saturday, he met Mr. Sabharwal along with his parents Rajavva and Lakshmi Rajyam, and his school principal, and received a gift of ₹10,000 and a robot doll from the Commissioner.

Mr. Sabharwal said the machine, with a few changes, would be very useful for farmers. The machine’s capacity could be increased from 20 kilograms to 40-45 kg by increasing its width, he said. If successful, the machine would replace four workers.

Naming it Vari Abhishekam, Mr. Sabharwal directed the officials concerned to initiate the process of obtaining patent for the machine on behalf of the Telangana government. In another major initiative, the Civil Supplies Department would introduce e-weighing machines at warehouses with the capacity of five tonnes, starting from the coming rabi season. The department is aiming to implement the same State-wide starting from the next khariff.

The e-weighing machines would be installed at 170 warehouses across the State, to ensure that the commodities are supplied to fair price shop dealers with correct weight. Inspecting the performance of the machines at Met Weigh India Factory at Cherlapalli on Saturday, Mr. Sabharwal said the machines would be available at all the godowns by March 31.

The machines would be linked to the Command Control Centre at Civil Supplies Bhavan and also to the Mini Command Control Centres in the districts, where live weighing can be viewed.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – February 23rd, 2019