Hari Narayan Prajapati, 35, astonished people here recently when he drove his scooter using air as fuel. He covered a distance of half a kilometre with a total of 150 pounds of air in a special fuel cylinder attached to the vehicle.

Prajapati, who lives in Bhanpur Kurdh village of Ramgarh tehsil, has been working on this project for the last four years.

"If my technique is properly channelised people will certainly get relief from the regular hikes in petrol and diesel prices," said Prajapati, who sounded enthusiastic about his innovation.

The scooter devised by Prajapati runs at a speed of 20 km per hour and can accommodate only one person.

The vehicle is like a regular scooter and starts with a kick. However, the accelerator wire of the scooter is directly connected to the air fuel tank.

"I have spent about Rs.150,000 on my project. Though it was a huge amount, what made it worthwhile was that I succeeded," said Prajapati.

He said he initially started experimenting on his father’s eight-year-old scooter because he did not have the money to buy a new one.

"I have braved financial and mental hardships to come out with this exclusive machine. My decision was very risky as we had only one scooter in the house," he said.

Emboldened by his success, Prajapati is now working on a special generator for his scooter.

"I have already started working on the generator which will not only run the scooter but would also generate high air pressure to ensure a regular supply of air to the scooter," he said.

Prajapati estimated that he would need about Rs.350,000 for his research and rued the fact that he had not been able to arrange any funding.

"I have written to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and the district collector but no one has evinced any interest in my scooter," he said remorsefully.