Jaiprakash Chaudhary, or as he prefers to call himself, Santu, earns Rs 11 lakh per month, provides livelihood to 160 people and does more than his bit for the environment. The 40-year-old conservationist from Bihar began working as a ragpicker in Delhi 23 years ago. When he first started, the discrimination against the ragpicker community made him quit the job after one month and go back to his village.
However, as Santu puts it, he realised poverty is worse than discrimination, and therefore, after two months he began afresh as a ragpicker in 1994, reported The Times of India.
Another two years down the line and Santu had opened a shop where he re-sold dry waste bought from trash collectors.
Speaking of the challenges in his way, Santu said:
I was harassed by police and civic body officials for years. Even today some people believe that waste pickers are thieves and many people look at them with contempt.
A couple of years later, his shop had to be pulled down.
I was removed because colonies began coming up close to my waste godowns. The displacements caused financial losses, but I held on to hope.Santu
With the help of an NGO called Chintan, Santu now gets waste from 10 malls, offices and hotels and the railway station in Delhi. He is believed to be responsible for the segregation of an estimated 25 percent of Delhi’s total waste.
Santu’s centre also tutors municipal corporation officials in recycling and treatment of waste in an environment friendly manner.
(With inputs from The Times of India.)
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