Thursday, May 5 2005 17:32 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hyderabad: Good news for physically challenged persons. Engineers of the Indian Army have fabricated for them a Motorised Wheel Chair (MCM), which can negotiate narrow steps and effectively halt the vehicle in steep slope.

Four Indian young engineers of EME division completed MCM as part of their project work which was adjudged as the best in Mechanical as well as Electronics streams in the Engineering course.

It took about six months time to complete the project and the wheel chair costs just Rs 1.20 lakhs as against Rs 5 lakh for a similar gadget in the market as there is no Indian company manufacturing automated wheel chair, Defence sources said.

Major Manish Gulia, Major Rahul Kumar Gupta, Major Harsh V Srivastava and Major Manoj K Jamwal have just completed 77th Degree Engineering Course in Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Secunderabad and have set out on an 'operation wheel chair project'.

Lt Col Atul Apte, who supervised the project, told PTI that the wheel chair can negotiate small steps.

"It is a four wheel drive with a controller key board that enables forward and reverse motion, speed variation, effective steering by joystick and even a horn on board," he said adding "it has a very effective brake which enables it to halt midway on a steep slope and is sufficiently powered to continue from that position without steeping backwards.

The maximum speed of the wheel chair is seven km per hour with four-speed variation while modification, including folding tables, are being planned. Maintenance-free rechargeable batteries have been provided which once fully charged can help the chair to run for a distance of 10 kms.

The wheel chair has also been provided with a seat-belt for the safety of the riders.

The young Army officers demonstrated the functioning of the device at the convocation ceremony of the 77 Degree Engineering Course recently.

The newly-fabricated device is very useful for soldiers who have lost their limbs as also for other physically-impaired persons and would be handy in hospitals.

The faculty of Military College of electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME) is in touch with other Defence organisations for mass production of MWC.