Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
No Result
View All Result
OrissaPOST - Odisha Latest news, English Daily -
No Result
View All Result

From mill worker to newspaper vendor, 28 yrs on

Post News Network
Updated: July 7th, 2018, 23:07 IST
in Metro
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on Linkedin

Also Read

BJD women hit streets, demand Khatua’s arrest

2 hours ago

Fish output doubles in 10 yrs: Union Min

2 hours ago

Choudwar: `Mama, the paper vendor.’
That’s how he would be remembered, he says with pride.
Quinquagenarian Bijay Kumar Hota, alias Mama, has been engaged in the newspaper hawking business for the past 28 years.
Hota’s childhood was not a bed of roses and was plagued by poverty, but he did not capitulate.
“I came to Choudwar young, in search of a better life and I have never looked back since,” he says.
Walking in his father’s shoes, at first, he joined the Odisha Textile Mills (OTM) here as a contractual worker. To compensate for his meagre salary, he had to work as a paperboy too. “Around 15 years ago, after the factory would close in the evening, I would pedal for around 17 km to reach Cuttack,” he says. He would knock at the door of every major publication, procure the newspaper bundles from there, tie these to the cycle and ride back to Choudwar.
The same evening, he would sell the newspapers here and whatever copies remained unsold, he would sell the next morning. But just like the 5,000 families who directly depended on OTM for their livelihood, the year 2001 brought despair for Hota as the mill closed down.
“I had no job after that, can you imagine?”
However, he continued his “knockings”, he jokingly says. He exclaims, “People would wait for Biju, their messenger, there was no substitute for me, I was their only means to daily news.Tee-hee!” Hota, who resides at Manguli, has stuck to his 28-year-old regimen till date. He wakes up at 4 am and toils for almost 18 hours straight with an afternoon break.
His day starts with unloading the newspaper bundles from the mini trucks and loading them onto his luggage van. “I drive the van to OTM Chowk where my depot is,” Hota says.
“By 7’o clock all my paperboys for Bhatimunda, Bishanakahani, Tangi, Barpada,Padagaan,Shankarpur, Berhampur, Kuspangi and Choudwar Bazaar areas reach the depot,” he adds.
In case any paperboy remains absent, Hota does not mind being the paperboy of the area for the day. “I take my cycle out and do what I do best,” he says with a chuckle.
At around 2 pm, Hota returns home to gorge on a sumptuous lunch to reinvigorate himself for the rest of the day. One can hardly envy him his sumptuous lunch. As he says, “Till then, I rely only on 10-12 cups of tea.”
Evening is time for accounts for the day as he notes down all the sales details from his paperboys. His work for the day ends at around 10 pm when he reaches home after a hard day’s labour.
Hota has married off his daughter and says, “She has found a nice family and my son too has been doing well with his studies. I feel relieved discharging my parental duties.” “My sweated blood will make my name reverberate around after I am gone, ‘Mama the paper vendor’, haha!” he says.

Tags: alias MamaBijay Kumar Hotanewspaper vendorOTM worker
Share10TweetSendShare
Suggest A Correction

Enter your email to get our daily news in your inbox.

 

OrissaPOST epaper Sunday POST OrissaPOST epaper

Click Here: Plastic Free Odisha

#MyPaperBagChallenge

Archana Parida

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Smitarani Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Spinoj Pattnaik

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ramakanta Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Arya Ayushman

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adyasha Priyadarsani Sendha

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Diptiranjan Biswal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Geetanjali Patro

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Parbati Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratik Kumar Ghibela

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Subhajyoti Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adrita Bhattacharya

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adweeti Bhattacharya

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Matrumangal Jena

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Praptimayee Biswal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Manas Samanta

December 12, 2019
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Dibya Ranjan Das

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Shreyanshu Bal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Bijswajit Pradhan

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ramakanta Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Anshuman Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Jhili Jena

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratik Kumar

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Priyabrata Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sisirkumar Maharana

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sitakanta Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Tapaswini Mallick

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sarmistha Nayak

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Aman Kumar Barisal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ankita Balabantray

December 12, 2019

Archives

Editorial

Toll Sucks Life

Nitin Gadkari
July 9, 2025

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari took everyone by surprise when at a function in Nagpur, where the...

Read more

Bloodline

BJP-Shiv Sena
July 8, 2025

The coming together of the Thackeray cousins – Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena...

Read more

Acknowledge Failure

Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh
July 7, 2025

Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh’s candid revelations about Operation Sindoor at a FICCI event ‘New...

Read more

Politics of Philosophy

AAKAR PATEL
July 6, 2025

The BJP’s constitution (Article 3) says, “Integral Humanism shall be the philosophy of the party.” The party’s membership form has...

Read more
  • Home
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
Developed By Ratna Technology

© 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

  • News in Odia
  • Orissa POST Epaper
  • Video
  • Home
  • Trending
  • Metro
  • State
  • Odisha Special
  • National
  • International
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Horoscope
  • Careers
  • Feature
  • Today’s Pic
  • Opinion
  • Sci-Tech
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs

© 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

    • News in Odia
    • Orissa POST Epaper
    • Video
    • Home
    • Trending
    • Metro
    • State
    • Odisha Special
    • National
    • International
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Editorial
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscope
    • Careers
    • Feature
    • Today’s Pic
    • Opinion
    • Sci-Tech
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs

    © 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST