The Hindu : City firm makes mobile fruit-processing unit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 09, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

City firm makes mobile fruit-processing unit

By S. Rajendran

Bangalore March 8. A Bangalore-based small-scale industry, Harsha Wheel Movers Ltd., located on Whitefield Road, has manufactured a mobile fruit-processing-cum-bakery demonstration unit that is stated to be the first of its kind. The mobile unit has already drawn the attention of various authorities within the country and abroad.

The fruit-processing unit, which was on display here two days ago, has been shipped to Guyana in South America as a gift from the Indian Government. The unit will reach Guyana in about two months. According to reports, the Government of India has assured the Government of Guyana that it would gift 25 such mobile units to enable the people of that country to add value to their agricultural produce. The Minister for Small-scale Industries, R. Roshan Baig, launched the mobile unit in the presence of the former minister and MP, Ramesh Jigajinagi.

Ashok Sharma, Managing Director, and Neeraj Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of Harsha Wheel Movers, told The Hindu here today that the mobile processing unit was unique since nowhere in the world had a fruit-processing unit been combined with a bakery unit.

Soon after receiving an inquiry from the Ministry of External Affairs about two months ago, Harsha Wheel Movers set in motion an action plan. After choosing the chassis on which the body could be built, people were put on the job to scout the market for fruit-processing machinery, baking ovens, and allied equipment. Then, a diesel generator set that could run all the machinery was fitted to the side of the vehicle.

Mr. Neeraj Sharma said an interesting feature of the processing unit was the television installed at the rear of the vehicle. Digital cameras had been fitted near the machinery. Thus, apart from those in the vehicle, the cooking demonstrations could also be witnessed by an additional 100 people. Apart from the oven, there is a dough-making machine, a fruit mill, juice extractors, and a dehydrator for drying apples, grapes, etc. The fully designed and built in Bangalore processing unit, he said, could also serve local farmers in value addition to their produce. Every district or taluk could be provided with a mobile unit for which funds could be generated on a cooperative basis or drawn from the local legislator's or local MP's Local Area Development Scheme.

The Government of India has plans to depute chefs to teach the people of Guyana, apart from training local chefs there. "A similar experiment could also be tried out in India. A fully built processing-cum-bakery unit costs around Rs. 25 lakh," he said.

Harsha Wheel Movers earlier fabricated a mobile dog surgery unit with funds contributed by the former Union minister, Maneka Gandhi. It has also fabricated a mobile cancer detection unit for the Bangalore Institute of Oncology, and a mobile cardiac testing laboratory for Narayana Hrudayalaya run by Devi Shetty. Referring to the cardiac unit, Dr. Shetty said his dream of ten years had been fulfilled in about a month.

Most of the employees at Harsha Wheel Movers were physically disabled persons, Mr. Sharma said.

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