Desi autorickshaw goes to London!

LONDON: India’s "notorious" three-wheeler has found a place in London''s science museum for its energy efficiency.
The gleaming yellow and black autorickshaw is placed right at the entrance of the second floor of the multi-storey building that houses worldwide acquisitions in the field of science. The collection forms an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical change since the 18th century.
"Bajaj autorickshaw - a familiar site in the streets of Indian cities.It has only a 145 cc two-stroke engine but can manage 68 miles per gallon even when carrying a driver and three passengers," says a plaque placed before the vehicle numbered DLR 6575.
The museum took birth as part of the nineteenth-century movement to improve scientific and technical education. It evolved from the South Kensington Museum which was established in 1857. The museum got a new building formally in 1928.
"The science museum strives to collect the latest information in the science field by the earliest. It had acquired a cast of the skull of the ''hobbit'', the human-like animal discovered in Indonesia recently, the same day the news broke," Kirsten Harvey, press executive of the museum, told a group of Indian reporters.
The human-like animal is only a-metre tall, she said.
About three lakh exhibits are displayed in the museum. An interesting exhibit is a genetically-engineered ‘obese’ mouse. It is useful in the study of obesity. The museum is run by the UK government but several leading companies also provide funds.