Farmers of Chhelia village of Junagarh block in Kalahandi district hope to double their income from agriculture in next one year, not due to any Government scheme or financial support but because of a joint venture by engineers of the IIT, Jodhpur and an NGO called KARRTABYA.

"It will be possible due to a water wheel turbine installed on a canal that will provide water for 80 acres of vegetable cultivation," says Bikram Matra, a small farmer of the village.

The turbine designed by the IIT engineers consists of a water wheel firmly mounted on a still shaft fixed on foundation supports. The shaft is coupled with a gearbox with universal couplings to step up the speed of rotation and a centrifugal pump to lift water. A pulley is used to transfer the power of the gear to operate the pump. "The turbine and the pump run at 1:40 ratio," says a staff of the NGO.

The water wheel turbine’s design is simple and location-specific. Dr Anand Krishnan Plappally, Assistant Professor, IIT, Jodhpur came here to study the water flow in the canal and the land to be irrigated and designed the turbine accordingly," said Ashok Pattnaik, chief executive of the NGO. "The cost of the unit is about Rs 5 lakh; and it is only a one-time investment," added he.

Thirty farmers with 80 acres of land are expected to benefit from the unit during Rabi season. "Each farmer was spending at least Rs 15,000 in kerosene to run the pump in Rabi season; so, you can calculate the cost of fuel borne by thirty farmers," says Manika Naik, who cultivates five acres and spends more than Rs 20,000 in kerosene. "Replacement of the kerosene-run pumps will save about 10,000 letres of kerosene," calculates Ashok. “The cost of the turbine will be reimbursed in one cropping season," he adds.

The lifting capacity of the pump is about 14 feet. Considering the topography of the village, the pipes can be extended up to 200 metres on both sides of the canal. "It will irrigate land which is not accessible to gravity water flow of the canal," inform the villagers.