Subha Laxmi (left) with other ragpickers.
BHUBANESWAR: Subha Laxmi (35), a ragpicker, is very excited. She has been trained to drive a battery operated vehicle and will soon start collecting waste from people’s doorsteps. “Apart from an assured monthly income, it will be a dignified job,” says the mother of three children, two sons and a daughter.
“I want my children to study. They will be encouraged more if I do an honourable job,” says the Class VI dropout and native of Kalibari slum in Bhubaneswar. While her eldest son (17) is in Class XII, the other is in Class VI. The daughter (5) is yet to start school. Her husband works in an eatery.