Barabanki
Pooja Pal, a 17 -year -old Pooja Pal of Dalipurwa, a small village in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, has illuminated not only her village, but the name of the entire country with her talent and passion. Between financial constraints and limited resources, Pooja created a dustless thresher model that promises to protect farmers from dust, illness and trouble. This innovation honored him at the national level and gave him an opportunity to represent India in Japan. His story is a symbol of inspiration, which proves that lack of resources in front of dreams and hard work does not matter.
Pooja Pal was born in Agera village of Sirauligauspur block of Barabanki. His father Puttilal is a daily wage laborer, and mother Sunila Devi works as a cook in a government school. Pooja’s life living in a splash with five siblings was full of challenges. The house did not even have basic facilities like electricity and toilets, and they had to resort to lamps for studies. Nevertheless, Pooja never tied her dreams within boundaries. She is not only a meritorious student, but also became the support of the family in domestic work.
Pooja’s talent came to light when she was studying in class 8. The dust flying during the wheat pelting from the thresher machine in the fields near his school, former secondary school Agera caused trouble for the children and the people around them. Seeing the shortage of the breath and environmental pollution of the dust, an idea came to the mind of worship – why not make a thresher that does not spread the dust? Under the guidance of her science teacher Rajiv Srivastava, Pooja prepared a dustless thresher model using tin, fans, wood and water tanks at a cost of just Rs 3,000. This model installed a water tank with a fan and lattice, which collects dust in a bag or tank, which keeps the atmosphere clean and farmers get relief from health problems.
This innovation of worship was first recognized at the district level in 2020. Subsequently, this model was appreciated in the board, state and national level exhibitions. The model was highly praised at the state -level exhibition of Lucknow in December 2020 and the National Science Fair held in Delhi. In 2023, the model of worship was elected at the national level under the Inspire Award Manak Scheme of the Government of India, in which only 60 participants from all over India were declared winners. Pooja was the only winner from Uttar Pradesh. This achievement gave him an opportunity to visit Japan under the Sakura High School Program of the Government of India, where he visited Tokyo universities and science laboratories. His model is now being patented by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, which outlines the utility and originality of his invention.
Pooja attributes her success to her teacher Rajiv Srivastava and parents. Rajiv Srivastava not only encouraged the idea of worship, but also nominated his model for the Inspire Award. Pooja’s parents, who were struggling with financial crisis themselves, always gave priority to their daughter’s education and dreams. Pooja said, “My parents inspired me to study even after doing wages. My teacher Rajiv sir gave me guidance at every step.
The story of Pooja is not just the story of an invention, but it is the story of a daughter who did not give up even under adverse circumstances. His house still does not have basic facilities like electricity and toilets, but the district administration has now promised to provide these facilities. Pooja’s dream is to teach the poor children of his village and show them the way to move forward. His achievements are a matter of pride not only for Barabanki, but for the whole of India.