Hubballi :

Clueless about the water level and expected flow, many a times, farmers are in a dilemma while planning to dig a borewell. Some resort to unscientific methods to detect “borewell points”. Having born in an agricultural family in Vijayapura, Girish Badragond was well aware of the problem. An electrician, who has studied till matriculation, he has developed a borewell scanner system, said to be the first of its kind in the country.

Now, the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), an autonomous body of department of science and technology, is helping Badragond patent the borewell scanner system.

Badragond says that poor and sporadic rainfall in Vijayapura district motivated him to come up with the innovation. “Vijayapura suffered drought in 2006. Farmers were in dilemma to install motor pumps. I tested the presence of water at different places using manual sound reflection. I realized that there is a need to carry out underground testing. Then, I thought of a device that could also withstand underground conditions like pressure, temperature and can be monitored from a remote place. This led me to design a borewell scanner system,” he says.

Currently, the device, which costs about Rs 2 lakh, is not for sale. Badragond, 36, takes it to fields when requested by farmers and issues a report on the water level. The Central Ground Water Board, south western region, has opined that the technology is innovative and can be used at a very low cost. “It is useful to know about the depth of well, depth of casing, water yielding zone/zones and depth of fractures, temperature, etc,” reads the board’s letter to NIF.

Badragond is now involved in research and development work in Bengaluru. “I have been making electrical gadgets since my childhood with the help of my father, who is a farmer and part-time electrician. When I was in class VII, I started reading the ‘Electronics For You’ magazine. I could make my first project of IR sensor in 1996, he recalls.

In 2005, Badragond was also involved in a road light saver project with financial support from friends. Then he developed automated agriculture products like bird repeller, energy saver, mobile phone and solar-controlled irrigation devices.

He was recently honoured with the state biennial award, instituted by NIF.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubballi / by Sangamesh Menasinaka, TNN / May 06th, 2015