The son of a mason, Sahu babu grew up in Bajapur in
Khurda District of Odisha. In 1982, he migrated to Bhubaneswar where he
supported himself by working in his grandfather’s garage.
In 1991, Sahu babu got married and moved in with his
father-in-law in their village. Here he worked as a peon in a government school
for free for almost 2 years. His duties included those of a technician, a peon
and he was often the person in charge of logistics.
Just as he was being signed on as a full time
government employee with all the benefits that would entail like a house and health
benefits, tragedy struck. There was a flood and the entire village was
destroyed.
This forced Sahu babu to move back to Bhubaneswar,
where he struggled to find a steady source of income. At the time one of his neighbors
sold fruit from a cart and invited Sahu babu to start doing the same. Left with
no other choice Sahu babu started selling fruit. Here too he face many
hardships in the form of harassment from the local police and the local thugs
who demanded that he pay protection money.
When the concept of Vending Zones was introduced he
saw a ray of light and approached Mr. Pratap Sahu who referred him to Mr Biren
Patra, the president of the Ashoke Nagar Vending Zone.
He started the business with a loan from his family
and friends and by mortgaging his wife’s gold jewelry. His assets include a
television and a bicycle.
Since fruit are perishable goods and if they spoil
he has to throw them away, Sahu babu keeps a small stock that he regularly
replenishes on credit.
Sahu babu’s younger son is getting a diploma degree
and his older son is currently working. His elder son is very interested in his
fruit business but Sahu babu is not encouraging him because he feels it is not yet
secure enough as the stall can be taken away by the government at any time.
Sahu babu keenly follows the news and loves reading
the newspaper. His keen intellect and sheer determination showed through in our
interactions with him.
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