Fighting all the odds Mohammad Saidullah of Bihar's Champaran district has invented an amphibious rickshaw.

Saidullah's native place is flood prone and it struck him one day to make a rickshaw that could move both on land and water.

66-year-old Saidullah is just a matriculate but he is a prolific inventor and inside his dilapidated workshop there is no limit to what he can create.

Apart from this rickshaw, his other creations are a mini tractor, a cycle which can recharge batteries and an amphibious cycle for which he was felicitated by President Kalam.

Costly passion

Saidullah's passion for inventing has cost him heavily. He has sold 40 acres of land over the past four decades.

Now he is willing to sell even his house - the last bit of property - to fund his innovations.

The part time scientist is currently engaged in the honey business. His income as a mechanic was not sufficient to sustain his family. Saidullah holds the government responsible for his plight.

"There are many scientists who leave our country and then our government after spending crore of rupees invite the same scientist for their expertise," said Saidullah.

"The government says that they have hired a new team of experts from America, Japan, UK and China, but it's an irony that they are all Indians who left our country," he said.

"Because of the government’s apathy, I have not yet understood why the government has failed to stop the brain drain," he added.

Family disillusioned

Saidullah's wife Noor Jahan is a disillusioned woman. Poverty has left her deeply resentful of her husband's scientific pursuits, despite Saidullah naming his creations after her.

Even Saidullah's only son has deserted him, blaming him for the family's poor economic state.

"Our family has not benefitted from all his inventions. We are not happy at all, what did we get apart from poverty. My husband has sold everything for his passion for science but what is the result," said Noor Jahan.

"He is my husband that is why I don’t tell him anything. I don’t fight with him; he is the head of the family. We cannot even eat properly due to poverty," she added.

But Saidullah is undaunted by his family's anger or his own lack of means.

He still nurtures hope that one day his inventions will be recognized and maybe he can even create that helicopter he always wanted to make before he dies.

The venture would cost him Rs 25 lakh but for Saidullah it is just one more hurdle to be crossed when it comes.