Pokhara, January 1

Biraj Bhandari of Phalepatan developed a battery-powered bicycle for himself after he failed to procure fuel for his motorbike even after queuing up for hours in Pokhara.

The 22-year-old cycle enthusiast committed himself to developing a cycle that ran on batteries with help from his friend Amrit Sigdel.

The duo first outlined a sketch of their project and procured necessary items. It took them about two weeks to complete the project.

Bhandari is a student of software engineering at Gandaki Engineering College of Pokhara. He shared that many people had asked him to develop a battery-powered cycle. He has named his bicycle Gangarani, after the name of his grandparents Ganga and Rani.

He said, “It cost us around Rs 60,000 to develop a battery-powered bicycle. I’ve made two models of such bicycles for now. I can, however, make different models of varying capacity if needed,” he said.

The cycle has the maximum speed of 40 km per hour and can run up to 45 km on one charge. It can climb an uphill stretch of up to 25 degrees.

It takes about eight hours to completely charge the battery.

Bhandari said he was planning to add more features to his invention and expressed hope that it could be used for tourism purpose.