W.M. Harshaka Prabath Darmapala, an 18-year-old student of Thambuttegama Central College, had recently built an aquatic weed harvester that could collect 120 kilograms of water hyacinth in tanks within an hour.
However, Darmapala has been unable to commence work on other machines he has plans for due to financial difficulties.
His harvester would consume only half a litre of petrol per hour. The student had also introduced a machine to convert water hyacinth into compost.