Engineering student converts vintage scooter into electric vehicle

Imphal: A computer engineering student in Imphal, Manipur has converted a vintage Bajaj 150 scooter into an eco-friendly electric vehicle. The technical expert identified as Albert Sarangthem has named the e-vehicle ‘Samdon’, which means a divine flying horse in Meitei mythology.

According to reports, the youth is studying 5th semester in Computer Engineering at Manipur Institute of Technology (MIT).

Albert has received much praise and appreciation for his work. Reportedly, he has named his e-bike as ‘Samadon EV I’ and the candy red e-scooter as ‘Samadon EV II’.

Speaking about e-vehicles, Albert told NDTV that a vintage scooter was used by one of my maternal uncles. It was later abandoned and his house rusted. However, Albert took it and got a makeover.
He further said that the basic mechanism to convert a fuel-powered vehicle to electric is to remove all the parts that are powered by the fuel engine, carburetor and other co-related parts and replace them. These machines need to be replaced with motor, speed controller, battery and other interrelated parts to make it an eco-friendly electric vehicle.

Hence, he purchased major parts like motor, battery and speed controller for retrofitting the scooter. He also told that he learned the skill of vehicle modification through the internet.

Albert has also received a certificate of appreciation from his engineering institute in 2022 for “his efforts and innovative work in making model electric bikes”.