Bhimesha builds trolley ropeway to help village cross river

KASARAGOD: For decades, the villagers of Badiatukka Minchanadukka had been pleading with authorities to build a bridge across the fast-flowing Perdala River, but to no avail. Finally, after years of waiting, a farmer named Bhimesha (53) took matters into his own hands. Searching YouTube for solutions, he came across an idea that would change his village's daily life: a trolley ropeway.

For almost a year now, the residents have been using this trolley ropeway to cross the river safely. In the past, they risked their lives by crossing the river using makeshift rope-and-gourd setups tied between the banks. Bhimesha, who owns an acre and a half of farmland on the other side of the river, was inspired to find a better solution. His search led him to a trolley ropeway built between mountains in Nepal, which he discovered on YouTube.

Armed with technical knowledge from his time in polytechnic, Bhimesha sought advice from Sunilkumar, a professor of mechanical engineering at Karnataka Puttur Vivekananda College of Engineering. With Sunilkumar's guidance, Bhimesha spent ₹60,000 of his own money to construct the trolley ropeway.

Bhimesha’s daughter Sushma, works as an engineer at Infosys in Bangalore, while his wife Malathi, assists him with farming. The couple now uses the trolley ropeway daily to cross the river and reach their homestead, transporting vegetables and bananas back with them.

How the trolley ropeway works

The system consists of two steel pillars erected on either side of the river at a height sufficient to allow the trolley to move freely. These pillars are reinforced with steel ropes to ensure stability. Two steel ropes are stretched between the pillars, supporting the trolley, which runs on four pulleys. A plastic rope, connected to the trolley, runs through two large pulleys positioned between the pillars. A support rope is also attached to the structure for added stability.

To use the trolley, a person sits on the platform and pulls the support rope to move across the river. The trolley can carry up to two people or a load of 250 kg, and has a 10-year warranty. The total journey across the river is approximately 30 meters.