mines

What Piyush realised through his interaction with the jawans was their unshakeable love for the country. “It is just pure love and a sense of deep respect for the motherland which keeps them going,” he shares.

What’s truly exciting is the global recognition his technology is garnering. The South Korean army has shown a keen interest in acquiring this technology and Harshwardhan says, “my aim is to save lives – to me it doesn’t matter whether the person is in India or Korea.”

In 2007, an activist with the NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Govinda Prasad Khanal, rescued him from these mines. That was the turning point for him.

These coal mines produce over 5,700 lakh cusecs of water every year, of which they utilise 2,589 lakh cusecs for their own use such as at coal washeries and for agricultural purposes and supply 1,091 lakh cusecs to local communities around the mines. Even after all this, they end up with a surplus of around 2,036.5 lakh cusec per year.