Jaipur Foot project is epitome of frugal or Gandhian engineering: founder

The Jaipur Foot project is the "epitome of frugal" or Gandhian engineering, which involves doing the maximum with the minimum, its founder Devendra Raj Mehta has said.

Founder of Jaipur Foot project and chief patron of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti Devendra Raj Mehta said his organisation's quest for improvement has led to collaborations with leading academic institutions across the world, including IITs, Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Highlighting the cost effectiveness and affordability of the Jaipur Foot, Mehta said the artificial limb costs about USD 60 as compared to the about USD 15,000 price tag of other artificial limbs being provided in other nations.

On how the organisation is able to make and provide the artificial limbs at affordable rates, Mehta said "high cost of prosthetic is not justified socially".

The Jaipur Foot project is the "epitome of frugal" or Gandhian engineering, which involves doing the maximum with the minimum, Mehta has said.

India's Permanent Mission to the UN along with the BMVSS in Jaipur organised a panel discussion at UN yesterday on the Jaipur Foot's 50-year journey of helping people with disabilities across the world. Following the panel discussion, an exhibition on Jaipur Foot was also inaugurated in the UN Secretariat Building.

Mehta said that his organisation is partnering with the Santa Clara University on developing a prosthetic known as the myelectric hand. A major research project on below-elbow artificial hand is also underway in Stanford University in collaboration with BMVSS. The model is likely to be functionally more efficient and inexpensive.

Prakash Bhandari, member of the Executive Committee and Media adviser Jaipur Foot, said the focus is on building a smart hand that is low on cost. He added that now 5,000 people every year across foreign nations would be provided with assistance from Jaipur Foot, starting with Vietnam, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Iraq.

Addressing the gathering, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the UN Maria Emma Mejia Velez also hailed Jaipur Foot's contribution to South-South cooperation, saying the organisation has played a crucial role in providing mobility to the differently-abled persons in her country.

She said 6 per cent of Colombia's population has some sort of disability due to the conflict, civil war and impact of mines.

Iraq's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Mohammed Hussein Mohammed Bahr AlUloom voiced appreciation that Jaipur Foot helped shape a better future for the disabled people across the world. He said there are about 25 million unexploded landmines and IEDs in Iraq and his country is still facing tremendous challenges in removing them.

Bangladesh's Ambassador to the UN Masud Bin Momen also appreciated that Jaipur Foot is soon opening a centre in his country, saying that 160 million people will be potential beneficiaries of the organisation's work.

Sri Lanka's UN envoy Amrith Rohan Perera paid tributes to the work done by BMVSS and for reaching out to his country "at a time when we were confronted with a long conflict".