Innovative machine, eases work in high-altitude apple orchards, wins praise from local farmers
Srinagar, Sep 19: As a remarkable display of innovation, a 6th-class dropout from South Kashmir’s Anantnag district has designed an apple gondola using scrap car parts, revolutionising the way work is done in high-altitude apple orchards.
Owais Khan, who left school early due to financial constraints, spent months collecting discarded automobile parts and experimenting in a small workshop near his home. The result of his effort is a functional gondola that allows workers to safely reach the upper portions of tall apple trees, reducing labour time and the risk of injury.
Speaking to the news agency—JKNS, Owais said he wanted to solve a problem that apple growers in his area have faced for decades. “It was always risky and time-consuming for workers to climb trees and harvest apples. I thought of making something that could lift them safely,” he said.
He said they have invested almost 1 crore rupees in their orchard so far and the new machine he developed consumes only about rupees 500 worth of petrol per day while saving nearly 15,000 rupees in daily labour costs that he previously had to pay before introducing the machine.
Local farmers have hailed Owais’s innovation as a “game-changer.” “We often struggle during the harvesting season because workers hesitate to climb tall trees. This gondola has made the work much faster and safer,” said Abdul Rashid, an apple grower from Anantnag.
Owais now hopes to refine his design with better materials and seeks support from the administration to scale up production of the gondola for use across Kashmir’s apple-growing regions. (JKNS)
