Kendrapara: At a time when people of his age prefer to retire and sit back at home, age has not been any constraint for Ajay Behera (50) who is deterred to keep his ancestral business alive.
Taking forward the ancestral business of his forefathers has been his sole motto all this years. The responsibility of his family and an effort to earn an honest living has been the core pillars of Ajay’s life. Despite several problems, nothing has been able to hold discourage Ajay.
Ajay, a resident of Dalabahad village in Chandan Nagar panchayat under Pattamundai block in Kendrapara district, sells green coconuts on his bicycle.
At this age, he climbs tall, huge trees and plucks the green coconuts. He pedals all the way to a local market where he sells it to his customers. With his loving attitude, he has formed a small customer base for himself who arrive at his place for the coconut water.
However, his age-related problems and diseases are posing a threat for him to climb atop coconut and palm trees now.
Ajay who lives with his elderly father Dasarathi, mother Ambika, wife Sasmita, three daughters and a son, leaves his house on his broken cycle early in the morning with a billhook and rope to pluck green coconuts.
The tree owners pay him anything between Rs 40 and 50 for plucking the green coconuts. He then buys it from the owners and takes it for sale. He sells the green coconut water to the commuters at a price of Rs 10-20 per coconut.
“Some days I don’t get coconuts and it is difficult to bear the daily expenses of my family then,” Ajay said.
Though the governments have introduced many schemes for the welfare of poor people like me, we are yet to get any benefit from schemes such as Indira Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Pucca Ghar Yojana or the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana.
“Although I have approached the district administration several times, they are yet to consider my request,” he added.
PNN