Engineering college principal claims to have developed it

An improvised sickle reportedly developed by M. Lakshman Rao, principal of Prakasam Engineering College, Kandukur, has come as a boon to the farmers, who struggle to keep their farms free of weed in the wake of shortage of labour.

Giving a demonstration of the indigenous sickle, Dr. Rao said, “Farmers can do away with the use of harmful chemical sprays by using the environment-friendly sickle to remove weed up to a depth of five inches.”

A ‘cycle hub’ made up of bearings has been used in the device that costs ₹300 compared to the conventional sickle that costs between ₹150 and ₹200.

“It can be used to lift heavy weights too using the lever principle by increasing the length of the circular pipe. A farmer can easily cut grass in two acres in a day,” Dr. Rao claimed.

The principle

“The lever principle has been applied in developing the farmer-friendly tool, which can go a long way in making the farm operation less strenuous and help in contributing to environment protection by doing away with the use of chemicals,” he said.

Dr. Rao has filed for patent rights for the device, which can be used even by the old and infirm persons.

“Using the sickle, I am able to do the work in about 40 minutes, which otherwise takes about one hour using the conventional one,” said a farmer, Hari Babu, from Dubagunta.