Mangaldoi: How about a car that is powered by water? Yes, you heard that right; at least if you are to go by the claims of a youth in Mangaldai in Assam’s Darrang district.
Prasanna Deka, a BA 2nd-semester student of Mangaldoi College, has built a car which, he claims, runs on water. No surprises there, he’s called his invention ‘H20 car’. “I am building a racing car where water is used as fuel. It took around six months for me to build the car,” he said.
Deka’s parents had been his pillar of strength throughout his journey. However, due to financial constraints, he had had to work in the college canteen to make a few extra bucks. In all, Deka spent around Rs 85,000 in building the car.
“With the ever-increasing rise in petrol prices, I believe this steam car will come as a relief to many. Also, this vehicle will help in environment preservation,” he added.
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This is not the first time a ‘water car’ has been made in India. In 2016, a 44-year-old mechanic from Madhya Pradesh designed and patented a similar car. The mechanic, Mohammad Raees Markani’s, vehicle ran on a mixture of water and calcium carbide. Markani apparently filled his car’s fuel tank with water and calcium carbide powder. A chemical reaction takes place and acetylene is formed which is the fuel that propels the engine.
Markani’s car created much hype and went viral on social media, but disappeared after a while.
Going by history, the first acetylene powered vehicle is more than a century old and dates as far back as 1899.
