Maibam Nandakumar demonstrates his invention in Imphal West on Monday. Picture by UB Photos

Imphal, June 4: Manipuris, harassed as they are by prolonged blockades and strikes and the consequent rise in prices of essential commodities, may now be able to at least cook without worrying about paying a fortune for an LPG cylinder.

A local entrepreneur, Maibam Nandakumar, has invented a new cooking stove that can produce equal, if not more, heat as an LPG stove using cheap rice husk.

Nandakumar, 35, demonstrated his invention before a group of reporters and local people at a local club of his village, Maibam Leikai, in Imphal West this afternoon. He calls his product Wai-Nam (rice husk) Gas.

The inventor said he would produce the stove on a large scale and release it in the market very soon. The stove, priced at Rs 3,000, could replace many LPG stoves in the kitchens of Manipur.

His technology is simple. The two-and-a-half feet stove is made of til (a soft silver-white metal). The rice husk is put into a 4.5inch cylinder, which can hold 700 gram of husk at a time.

The stove is attached to the top of the cylinder, while a battery-powered fan for blowing the flame is attached to its base. The user can increase or decrease the flame using a regulator as is done in LPG stoves. The flame can be put out after cooking by simply stopping the fan.

One full cylinder can burn up to 50 minutes, the normal time for cooking rice and a dish, while a fully-charged battery can last up to seven days.

He started working on the stove about four months back and some of his friends helped him with the prototype.

“I started thinking of inventing a cheaper mode of cooking after seeing the sufferings of the people caused by non-availability of cooking gas during economic blockades,” Nandakumar said.

During last year’s economic blockade, a cylinder of LPG was sold for Rs 2,000. At normal times too, cooking gas is not freely available.

“In addition to non-availability of cooking gas, felling of trees for cooking purposes has severely affected the state’s environment. My technology is environment-friendly and cheap and is affordable for anyone,” he said.

One will have to spend only Rs 3,000. The rest is free. Rice husk is free. Anyone can collect rice husk from any rice mill. One bag can last more than 10 days.

The stove, like a gas stove, is smokeless and can boil a litre of water in six to seven minutes.

After graduation, Nandakumar completed a two-year computer course and currently owns a computer store at Heirangoithong near his home.

The stove was an instant hit. Those gathered at the demonstration were impressed. “It is easy to operate, less risky and above all, much cheaper. I will have one as soon as it is released,” A. Dhananjoy Sharma, one of those present at the demonstration, said.