Kendrapara: 

As soon as you broker a conversation, Nirakar, the owner of the garage gets up and comes closer, looks around and asks, "Any problem with your bike or car?" As soon as he hears a ''no'', he turns around and gets busy again. Prod him about his innovation - the tyre fixing machine, and he shies dodging the question. "It is a quick fix, a solution I devised to help myself and customers who are in a hurry," says the 41-year-old Nirakar, a self-taught mechanic.

At first glance, a garage in Jalichhak, Kendrapara, does not have anything to draw attention unless you have a flat tyre or a vehicle breakdown. From the outside, it is just like any roadside repair shop where the walls have been darkened by years of soot and grease and piles of old motorcycle parts stacked in corners, not to miss the metal clangs irritating ear buds. Step a little closer, and you’ll find something extraordinary amid the rust and rubble - a machine repairing flat tires and a man engrossed in fixing it. From the age of 11, Nirakar had the responsibility of fending for his family, running a bicycle repair shop in Jalichhak. Over time, he transformed it into a motor garage. But for him the most challenging was fixing flat tyres and there were people in queue always. Tired of spending much time (20-25 minutes) to loosen the tyres manually, Nirakar thought of an idea which fructified after years of experimentation.

Someone with a class 10 pass certificate, he has built a tyre-changing machine from scrap, that comes handy to repair flat tyres, real fast.

Between 2018 and 2022, Nirakar broke his head failing time and again and spending over Rs 1.5 lakh in the process, before he finally created human-powered tyre-changing machine. Made from scrap like old motorcycle rims, bearings, and iron pipes, the machine he built weighs over 150 kg and can change tires within two to three minutes.

The machine operated manually does not need electricity. With the area facing erratic power supply, the machine can be operated without any ancillary requirements. Though he spent more than a lakh to set up the machine by trial and error, he believes the final product can be replicated at Rs 40,000–50,000. "Because now I know what is needed to make a machine and how it can be made in a cost-effective way," he says.

reporter about his creation, Nirakar finally spoke. “This machine has made my work faster, and efficient. Earlier, I could only manage 8–9 tyre changes a day. Now, I do three times more than that,” Nirakar says.

Nirakar’s wife, Nirupama, says, “There were days when we didn’t know how to feed our children or pay their school fees. But he has always stood like a pillar. He worked hard and today we are repaying our loans well and our children are doing good. He has achieved what he wanted and I am happy too,” adds she.

Their elder son, Parthasarathi Das, a B.Tech graduate is currently working with an IT firm. Present at the garage, he says, "Without having engineering knowledge, his experience has made him able enough to innovate important machines and I am proud to be his son.”

Though local customers swear by the efficiency of Nirakar’s invention, he has received appreciation letters from state and central authorities, which includes acknowledgment from the President’s office. He has got a certificate of registration of design, from the India Patent Office, Government of India. But he rues that he is yet to get any financial assistance to take the innovation to a new height.

He also dreams of setting up a small training centre to teach young people how to build and operate similar machines. “I need a small patch of land to start the centre and work. If the government supports me, I can train others, particularly to enable the differently-abled, to build a better future,” he says.

Nirakar remains hopeful. “I’ve written letters to the District Skill Development Officer and applied for help through various portals, but so far, no help has come,” he says in a faint voice of disappointment.

He has also worked on a prototype of a rice-threshing machine, which remains half-complete due to lack of funds.

An auto driver Kulamani Sethi, who has been repairing his vehicle at Nirakar's garage, says, “Earlier, we had to wait for long but now the work is done in less than 10 minutes. He charges the same Rs 50, but the service is fast. We have never seen anything like this before.”

Nirakar says he wants his machine to reach ever corner of the country. "If I get the right support, I will start a company where even physically-challenged people can get employment. I want to be useful for the society and help others earn with special training,'' he says while looking at the watch, indicating it is time for him to get down to work.

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