Agartala, Jul 10, 2022, Ananya Deb/ TT
Agartala, July 10: Moving fingers across his forehead to sweep away the sweat, Litan Saha, a divyangan rickshaw puller from Ranirbazar, braved the scorching sun – and was pulling his motorized rickshaw to fend his family.
Litan Saha was a bus driver but lost his job due to his physical disability. He has been pulling a rickshaw for the last 5 years. Even as he is satisfied with his earnings, the only tragedy in his life is that he couldn’t raise his son properly. He wanted his son to study well and become self-sufficient, but his son fell into the trap of bad company and became addicted.
“ I am working hard despite my disability, but my son – fully fit and fine – wasting his life”, Saha lamented.
Meet Swapan Deb who suffered a stroke but didn’t give up. He bought his own motor rickshaw. Even as unable to work hard, he is meticulously managing his spending and saving some part of his earnings, so that he can open his own food stall and earn a little more money. From morning 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, he drives his rickshaw and does other part-time jobs in the evening. He has a happy family and they are doing well.
Enduring all the hardships of summer, winter and rainy season, Rabi Kar, a 52-year-old man from Aralia drove a rickshaw and raised his two sons. He has been driving a Rickshaw for 30 years and is happy with his life. From paddling a rickshaw to pulling a motor rickshaw, his journey was real. He provided education to his sons who utilized the opportunity and earned a good income. He is happy that his sons respect his work and stood beside their parents. He is relaxed now as everyone in his family earns and they don’t have any financial difficulties.
Enduring all the hardships to run the family, Rickshaw pullers overcome all the retaliatory conditions. Many people abuse them badly for 5 rupees while many people are kind to them.
Divyangana Litan Saha said, “I always return home with mixed emotions. Some people respect my determination while many others ignore me and even try to take advantage of my physical disability. Despite all the odds and harsh realities, I am happy that I am not dependent on anyone’s pittance”.