Palpa, August 11:

A youth in Palpa drove a tractor today using Sajeevan (tectona grandis) oil as fuel.

“I produced 15 litres of oil by grinding 15 kg of Sajeevan seeds,” Karki of Madanpokhara VDC said.

Karki pumped out diesel from the fuel tank of the tractor and changed the diesel filter of the engine before pouring Sajeevan oil in the fuel tank.

He then drove the tractor in the presence of locals, vehicle owners and technicians.

Karki drove the tractor to Burtung, a distance of 10 kilometres from Jarepipal, much to the amazement of the locals.

“Originally, I had planned to drive the tractor all the way to district headquarters Tansen. I could not do this for want of oil,” Karki added.

Karki said he would again drive his tractor to Tansen after producing sufficient Sajeevan oil.

The villagers, who had made fun of Karki when he was collecting Sajeevan seeds, are appreciating his feat.

“We were amazed to see a vehicle running on Sajeevan oil,” Dil Bahadur Magar, one of the observers of Karki’s feat, said.

Karki ground Sajeevan seed at a mustard mill in Harthok, a distance of 25 kilometres from his village, as the village did not have any processing centre. “We can build a processing centre here if we get economic support,” Karki said.

Vehicles owners, who have been hit by the shortage of petroleum products, are elated with Karki’s experiment.

Dhruba Bhandari, a resident of Madanpokhara village development committee, said the use of Sajeevan oil would help decrease pollution.