Dipchand Bihari, Post news network, Bhubaneswar, Feb 4: Nestled among the 164 stalls that have been set up at the ongoing Adivasi Mela at the Tribal Exhibition Ground Unit I is stall no. 19 of the small irrigation department where the hydraulic ram (Hydram) pump is being exhibited.
This pump, which works on technology adapted from Thailand and Phillippines, promises to benefit farmers by reducing irrigation costs.
The device, which was developed here with local instruments by Brahma Nanda Pradhan, an executive engineer of Mayurbhanj small irrigation division, is a motor-less device for pumping water at low flow rates.
The pump uses the energy of flowing water to lift water from a stream, spring or river to an elevated storage tank or a discharge point. With a continuous flow of water, a hydram operates continuously with no external energy source.
“The hydram is a cyclic water pump powered by flowing water. No outside power is required to run it. It can be also called the water powered pump (WPP). It will continue operating as long as the required volume of water continues to flow through it. The system is useful in remote areas where a large quantity of water at lower height is available and where power is scarce,” said Pradhan.
“The technology has been appreciated in several states such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand. At present, the pump has been installed in three blocks of Mayurbhanj district, including Samakhunta, Suliapada and Kuliana on a pilot basis,” he said.
The initial cost of the pump is equivalent to that of a diesel or petrol pump set, according to Pradhan. The farmer does not need to spend money on electricity, petrol, diesel and kerosene to operate the pump, he said. Besides, it does not need much repair and maintenance as there is no movable engine inside the pump.
The pump had been exhibited at the Mayurbhanj panipanchayat December 27 last year.