Bangalore To London In A Solar Rickshaw!

Naveen Rabelli, 33, had big plans when he quit Reva. He bought himself an auto rickshaw and named it Tejas! Yes. He stripped it and customized it but when he left the garage, it broke down. Not losing heart, he took it right back to the garage.

Now, customizing can mean many things, but for this engineer from Bangalore it meant stripping off the rickshaw completely and fitting solar panels. He has converted this diesel three-wheeler to an non-polluting commuter.

Now, since he has a solar powered vehicle, he wants to make a trip to promote the idea of eco-friendly travel. He plans to drive it across 10 countries up to London, travelling about 9,600 km.

Rabelli's auto, fully revamped with a new battery, motor and engine weighs almost a ton when fully loaded. The roof is built from solar panels. Eight hours of charge will get this green machine about 80 kms.

This mission so far has costed Rabelli all his life savings. He will need to raise more money to fix the flooring and get a new lithium ion battery to replace his current lead acid one.

Also Read: Pedal Power - Kolkata To Ladakh In A Rickshaw

He says when everything is put together and finished, it will be a lot cheaper to run compared to the traditional diesel engine.

Rabelli is to ride from Bangalore to Mumbai first, before loading the auto onto a boat to Iran. Resuming his journey from the Persian Gulf, then to Turkey, Bulgaria and then Europe to the French port of Calais.

The engineer and his companion Raoul Kopacka plan to sleep at the back of the auto rickshaw on mattresses for most of the journey.

Kopacka, who is filming a documentary, was chosen by Rabelli because the Austrian was short enough to fit at the back of his auto to sleep.

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