Yesterday I was returning from
Danapur to Patna after finishing Soft Skills session at ISM Patna, I met
Raghu, a boy who was hardly ten years old. He was pulling a rickshaw. He works at Pulwari Sharif. His job is to move from gate to gate of each house and
collect the rubbish, even sometimes he is forced to take away the filth from
houses.
On inquiring, he proudly said
that for this job, he is being paid rupees hundred per day. He is a bread
earner for his family. He lost his father couple of year ago when he was
too young.He said proudly that he used to go to school. Now he and his mother
as a maid work hard to fulfill the amenities of the family which consists of
Grandfather, Grandmother, two sisters of age eight and six.
The job that he is performing is
assigned to an outsourcing company by the Bihar Nagar Nigam to keep the city
neat and clean. To chit chat for a while with Raghu, I asked him, if he would
like to have a glass of Bournvita, he immediately asked for a cup of tea. He
brought his rickshaw and had parked it by the side of the tea stall where we
both sipped a hot cup of tea.
I asked him if he had faced
any problem while performing his everyday task, he smiled and said, "Didi,
now I am well accustomed. A year ago, to pull the rickshaw and paddle the
cycle, was very difficult as the handle used to slip away. But now, you can
challenge me. I have become an expert."
Were you questioned by police
anytime? Did they see you pulling the rickshaw? Have they stopped you
anytime?
His answer was spontaneous and
said, "I always salute the policewala's whenever I see them. They are
good. They never stopped me. Also, I follow the traffic rules, strictly.
He then thanked me for the cup of
tea, with a bright smile, he said bye to me. He pulled his rickshaw and moved
off to reach his destination.
I also felt bad and was ashamed
of myself because people like me every day meet children like Raghu. When they
come to the home to collect the rubbish, we treat them as an employee
instead of showing any empathy towards them. Common man blames the government
for different evil practices, but when he is the part of such evil practice,
hardly bothers to correct self. We, at least the educated members of the
society, are aware of labor laws. Why should we not employee a child for his
services?
At such a tender age, Raghu is
pretty aware of his responsibilities. To work for the family and to look after
their needs, he takes it up as his duty. Though the government has different
policies, but in India, we have many such Raghu everywhere, in every city
and village. For them, providing free school facilities, books and midday meal,
can not suffice their need.
Just by knowing the norms will
not help in eradicating the evil practices. What I believe is, people who are
blessed like us, should share our blessings with at least children like Raghu.
I am keenly waiting for my next meeting with Raghu, so that I can be of some
help, to him and for his family.
