Barabanki's Pooja Makes India Proud in Japan

17-year-old Pooja Pal of Agehra, a small village Dalaipurwa in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, has brought laurels to not only her village but the entire country with her talent and passion. Amidst financial constraints and limited resources, Pooja created a dust-free thresher model that promises to save farmers from dust, disease and trouble. This innovation earned her national recognition and an opportunity to represent India in Japan. Her story is a symbol of inspiration, which proves that lack of resources does not matter in front of dreams and hard work.

Pooja Pal was born in Agehra village of Sirauli Gauspur block of Barabanki. Her father Puttilal is a daily wage laborer, and mother Sunila Devi works as a cook in a government school. Living in a thatched house with five siblings, Puja’s life was full of challenges. The house did not even have basic facilities like electricity and toilet, and she had to rely on diya light to study. Yet, Puja never limited her dreams. She is not only a brilliant student but also supports the family in household chores.

Idea came after seeing environmental pollution
Puja’s talent came to the fore when she was studying in Class 8. The dust that flew during the threshing of wheat with a thresher machine in the fields near her school, Purva Madhyamik Vidyalaya Agehra, was a cause of trouble for children and people around. Seeing the respiratory problems caused by dust and environmental pollution, Puja got an idea—why not make a thresher that does not spread dust? Under the guidance of her science teacher Rajiv Srivastava, Puja designed a model of a dust-free thresher using tin, fan, wood and water tank at a cost of just Rs 3,000. In this model, a water tank was installed with a fan and mesh, which collects the dust in a bag or tank, keeping the environment clean and giving relief to farmers from health problems.

Pooja's story is not just the story of an invention, but it is the story of a daughter who did not give up even in adverse circumstances. Even today, her house does not have basic facilities like electricity and toilet, but the district administration has now promised to provide these facilities. Pooja's dream is to educate the poor children of her village and show them the way forward. Her achievements are a matter of pride not only for Barabanki, but for the whole of India.