[Assam] State innovator named for national award (The Assam Tribune, 05.01.2011)

[Buljit Buragohain]

State innovator named for national award

Staff Reporter
 GUWAHATI,
 Jan 4 – Working silently in a flood-ravaged remote corner of the State,
 innovator Uddhav Bharali, a trained mechanical engineer, has brought 
laurels for the State once again. He has been nominated by the National 
Research Development Corporation’s (NRDC) ‘Meritorious Invention Award’ 
for the year 2009 for his pomegranate de-seeder machine.

Meanwhile,
 Bharali has innovated a low-cost green tea manufacturing machine that 
can produce 25 kgs of green tea in three hours’ time. The cost of the 
machine is expected to be within Rs 2 lakhs and it comprises two parts—a
 steamer and a dehydrating dryer. With this device, Bharali has so far 
innovated 92devices.
Talking
 to this newspaper over phone from his North Lakhimpur residence, 
Bharali said that he is flooded with orders from the small tea growers 
to supply the new device. However, he would require some time to get 
himself prepared for commercial production of the device, which can be 
operated by three persons and maintains the quality of the green tea 
intact, Bharali said.
 The
 Feature Group of Companies, which runs the Big Bazaar shopping mall 
chain, has selected the domestic type of Bharali’s pomegranate de-seeder
 for marketing. For the purpose, the company has asked Bharali to supply
 five samples of the device for displaying at its metropolitan malls. 
The innovator is supplying these samples of the device to the Feature 
Group shortly.
It
 needs mention here that pomegranate juice has emerged as one of the 
most important health drinks these days. A domestic type pomegranate 
de-seeder will cost the buyer around Rs 3,000, said Bharali.
Each of the green tea producing machines will be available to the buyers at around Rs 2 lakh. 

The
 steamer part of the device can be run with firewood or LPG cylinder. 
Its de-hydrating dryer removes the water from the steamed leaves and 
dries them up keeping their green colour intact. 

The device developed by Bharali is able to produce quality tea. 

Green
 tea is also regarded to be a fabulous source of antioxidant. Green tea,
 because of its high production cost is at present priced higher. This 
has made it unaffordable for the common tea consumers. 

This
 machine is expected to help small tea growers produce green tea without
 any big factory. It requires only a small room, 1.5hp power, which can 
be derived from domestic connection. 

Some
 Nilgiri tea planters initially requested Bharali for this device. Now 
many Assam small tea growers have been placing their orders with him, 
said the innovator, who could develop the device within a month’s time. 
He has 53 assignments in his hand.
(The Assam Tribune, 05.01.2011)