Making the Ordinary Extra ...Inaugurating the 'Solar Thela'....
Captain's Log - 15 August 2017
0915 hrs, 23.024515, 72.519680
Shri. Prabhat K Ghosh, ex- Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad City and presently the chaiman of the Council for Preservation of Heritage in Ahmedabad, presided over the flag hoisting ceremony, unfurled the flag , and did the honors.
After the flag hoisting, the 'Thela' was inaugurated by the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon and the handing over of a Unique 'Key' - "the Anti- Theft" device.
Some videos were captured too - Let's start with the night before when the handcart was being decked up like a "bride-to-be"!
The under carriage view was also shot !
Then, we welcomed a guest of honor, Mr. Deepak Korhalkar
Then, Shri. P.K. Ghosh unfurled the flag and waited for the anthem to begin -
Lastly, Shri Prabhat K Ghosh addressed us on the relationship of the lives of those still under privileged after 70 years of Independence and who had only a thela or 'Rekdi' as their means of livelihooh-
After that the children had a fun time eating sponsored Poochkas, or Paani Puris as you can see in the images below -
What will be the future of this project ?
An immediate need, would be "How should we brand the the solar thela?" Presently, it will only be a Sticker on the cart top, a bit prominent though! Hence, one catchy phrase like Solar-Swachch or the S-Thela, or सौर-रेकडी or सौर-सुविधा maybe an eye-catcher! But that would be some months away as powers that be, decide to look at the needs of a common man and the industry doesnt take the consumer to be an idiot but treats a customer at leassst like a human if not a royal!
Till then, here's a ready reckoner for all of you Solar Enthusiasts -
Base Model Solar Hand Cart (Thela) will contain-
1. Solar Panel - 250 Wp
2. Rechargeable Battery - 12V, 80Ah
3. Microgrid Inverter / Battery Charger (Solar Panel to Battery)
4. Nett Meter and Charging from 230 Vac Mains
5. Tubelights
6. Fans / Cooling
7. RO water
8. USB hub without appliances
9. Anti-theft device (maybe camera enabled this time)
All Thelas or handcarts will be insured, licensed and registered with enforcement agency or police.
Application Categories (2 to 5 numbers in each category will be made initially as we move forward, add categories and adapt to the market)
1. For vegetable vendor / Flower/Bouquet selling
2. For cooked food outlets, tea, hot breakfast, etc.
3. For Refrigerated / Cooled supplies like Ice-cream, lassi, etc
4. Non-cooked motor driven eateries like Fruit Salads, Juice centers
5. Cabin based cart for roadside tailors, cobblers with specially designed appliances.
6. Very specific moving road speed limited Swachch Bharat - Electric Bike based hi-tech low cost closed toilets.
Solar Panel configuration -
a. Flat Roof
b. Triangular changeable to slant roof (low cost to increase solar efficiency)
Target Price Estimates thumb rule :
Rs.30,000 MRP for full option configuratin
Base model price to be worked out after first 25 numbers and first quarter market feedback.
Price Basis
All inclusive, 0% Interest, 0% Profit (this does not mean we will not compensate ourselves for our labour and managment)
EMI Rs. 500 per month for 60 months.
12 month combined maintenance plus warranty maybe experimented extendable to 60 months at most nominal charges.
Detailed Project Report with marketing and finance strategies to be updated here after the first pilot lot of 25-50 nos.
Jai Hind
