A study be made available in 2019 suggests that India is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world. However, the same study also says that over 63 million people should not have access to the right to adequate housing facilities.
While countless live in temporary rooms such as straw huts or shanties, others live in discarded sending receptacles that are not suitable for warm weather conditions. This forces them to have to continuously relocate or rebuild their homes.
To address this issue, Perala Manasa Reddy( 23) the affected residents of Bommakal village, Telangana has innovated OPods, a low-cost housing solution.
What’s more? They are move consuming large-scale sewage pipes made of steel, concrete and cement.
The OPod constructed by Manasa Reddy.
“The tubes were procured from a manufacturer in Telangana who was willing to customise the their size according to my need. Though they are circular, comfortable enough for their own families of three, and can be constructed as a 1BHK, 2BHK or 3BHK, depending on the user’s requirements, ” says Manasa, a civil engineering graduate from Lovely Professional University( LPU ), Punjab, adding that the structure can be built within 15 to 20 days.
She has also propelled a startup appointed Samnavi Constructions and hopes to build more low-cost homes across the country. In an interview with The Better India, Manasa explains why she wanted to build the O-Pod, and how she did it.
Understanding the struggles of temporary home
Born and raised in the small village of Bommakal, Manasa accomplished her schooling at the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Education Society. After graduating high school she went to pursue civil engineering at LPU.
Perala Manasa Reddy( 23 ).
Manasa says her experience with volunteering for social work in Telangana’s slum areas represented a role in her choosing civil engineering. “Here, I evidenced many class, with children, living in temporary houses made of steel membranes and massive plastic includes. Some would live in bamboo or prefabricated residences made from shipping containers. But one thing was common between all the families here — they were migrant workers and wouldn’t live in these rooms for more than one year, ” says Manasa, said they evacuate these residences because the area gets too hot during the summer, or floodlights during the monsoon.
While she noticed these problems during her first year of college, she never got the opportunity to start working on a answer. However, in March 2020 when she was pursuing her final time of engineering from residence, she had enough time to design and propose a solution.
“There were eras when I noticed homeless people taking shelter in sewage pipings placed on the side of the road. I wondered if I could revise the sizing to suit the needs of a family so that they can have adequate space for a permanent home, ” says Manasa.
The idea to make a Pod-style home was inspired after doing months of research on low-cost housing options found in Japan and Hong Kong. Apart from this, she also read several research papers online to understand more about house low-cost homes in a small space.
Intent the paradigm
By the end of 2020, formerly the COVID-1 9 lockdown was eased, Manasa approached a manufacturer of sewage tubes in Siddipet, Telangana. With their assistance, she was able to procure one interminable pipe.
“The company, whom I do not wish to name, agreed to help me with my assignment and required me with a hose which was obligated abusing two of their regular ones. This added more seat to the pod-style home I wanted to build, ” says Manasa, adding that she also ensured the piping was towering enough for a person to stand inside and that it was given a coating of lily-white coat to reflect hot and keep the residence cool.
To purchase the pipe and other raw material including door and space frame, as well as bathroom and electrical fittings, Manasa acquired Rs 5 lakhs from her mother.
“My father passed away when I was in Class III and since then, my mother has provided for both me and my younger sister. To ensure we had a regular income, she took up paddy farming the same year my father passed away, which she carries on till today. She subscribed me wholeheartedly in my programme and made a credit to fund it, ” says Manasa.
The construction began on 2 March, 2021, at a patch provided to Manasa by her relative. By 28 March, a 1 BHK O-Pod house was ready.
“The house is 16 ft long and 7 ft tall. It has a small living room, a shower, kitchen and drop, and a bedroom that can house a queen size mattress, ” says Manasa.
The entrance of the OPod. Bagging 200 orders
To test whether the house was congenial, she persuasion a migrant worker who was working as part of the construction team to stay there for seven days.
“We him with energy, water supply, and even food. He enjoyed his stay but had some feedback for us involving placement of the shower, contributing more ventilation with windows and more which will be incorporated into the future programmes, ” says Manasa.
On the same day as the launch of the O-Pod house, Manasa propelled her fellowship, Samnavi Constructions, with Naveen Reddy, a business management student from LPU. Manasa is also working on intends of 2,3 and 4BHK O-pod houses.
So far, she has received over 200 tells from various states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha to construct the O-Pod houses. Owing to the lockdown and COVID-1 9 regulations, she is yet to start work on these.
If you wish to get in touch with Manasa, you can visit Samnavi Construction’s website.
Edited by Divya Sethu
Read more: thebetterindia.com
