Bhubaneswar
Disability is never an inability, if one pursues one’s goal with patience and perseverance. This is what physically-challenged Kondh tribals Salman Pradhan and Ajaya Mutha Majhi of Daringbadi block along with eight others in Kandhamal district, Odisha, epitomize in their life and living.
Salman and Ajaya, who had lost mobility of their limbs during their childhood, have now successfully emerged out of the quagmire of anguish and agony to rewrite their course of life and shake off the ‘stigma’ and ‘pain’ of being a burden on their respective families. Now Salman’s solar-powered tricycle, fitted with a compact printer-photocopier, fetches him a “satisfactory” earning.
“Now my mobile tricycle ‘Xerox Shop’, propelled by solar energy, rolls along the lanes and by-lanes of my area to earn me Rs. 100 daily on an average. Gifted by non-government agency Kandhamal Zilla Sabuja Vaidya Sangathana (KZSVS) in Daringbadi block headquarters, the customized tricycle has now let me live life with dignity,” school dropout Salman, who belongs to the Lambabandha village under Daringbadi block but is settled in Pliheri panchayat headquarters with his father, told The Indian Tribal.
Till class fifth Salman was rated as the fast sprinter of Pliheri Primary School. When he was in class seventh in Jagatjyoti Madhya Ingraji Vidyalaya in Daringbadi block headquarters, he used to cycle all eight kilometers to attend his class. In 2003, Salman the fast runner of the primary school and cyclist of Madhya Ingraji Vidyalaya, was down with fever.
Slowly and surely his legs started losing their mobility. However, he managed to limp, stagger and lumber around with the help of a wooden crutch. Life turned all but bleak for him in 2010 when his legs completely lost their flexibility and agility. Afflicted with ‘life-long locomotor disability’, he had to lean on his parents to accomplish his daily chores.
Then through an acquaintance, about four months ago this year he met Dinabandhu Maharana, the founder of KZSVS. His interaction with Dinabandhu finally bailed him out of despondency, as he was given a solar-powered tricycle ‘xerox shop’. Now Salman supplements his father’s income with his miniscule contribution. His farmer father earns about Rs. 20,000 annually from his two acres of paddy and turmeric land.
Salman now wakes up early in the morning, oils the chains of his tricycle Xerox Shop and begins his daily ride for livelihood. He changes his route every week to cater to the needs of his customers.
Like Salman, tribal Ajaya passed through a phase of immense pain at the age of ten when his left leg and right hand slowly and completely lost their mobility. Down with such affliction, he almost crawled along to move from one spot to another, which he still does. Initially he used to be bogged down in mental distress and despair. But he gradually emerged out of gloom and decided to set up his Jana Seva Kendra (JSK) in 2024 to live a decent life.
He zeroed in on a house to take on rent. He hoped that his JSK in the house at a prime location in Daringbadi would help earn substantially for him by providing digital service to his customers on the issuance of ‘mandatory’ items like Aadhaar Card, passport applications etc. But he received a setback. The house had a pending electricity bill of about Rs. 32000 that its earlier tenant had never paid off. This had forced the energy department to snap power supply to it.
A despondent Ajaya gave up all his hope. At this critical juncture, KZSVS came to his rescue. It not only arranged a house near the tehsil office for him to set up his JSK, but also equipped it with solar panels, a computer, a battery and an inverter in the first part of 2025.
“In collaboration with SELCO (Solar Electric Light Company) Foundation, we shaped out the tricycle Xerox Shops and gifted them to two physically challenged persons. Besides, we equipped Jan Seva Kendras of eight such persons to run with solar power. We have now targeted to provide such provision to 1800 persons with disabilities,” said Dinabandhu Maharana, who received Yuva Prativa Sammana Award from Odisha’s chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi in May last.
“We fabricated each printer-photocopiers with a solar panel of 140 watts. It cost around Rs. 1.30 lakh. Similarly, we fitted a number of JSKs with solar panels that cost Rs. 1 lakh per kilowatt,” said Gautam Pradhan, senior advisor of SELCO Foundation. Both KZSVS and SELCO Foundation jointly financed the entire philanthropic project to give a leg-up to the Salmans and Ajayas in Daringbadi block.
Ajaya gratefully acknowledged the contribution of KZSVS and SELCO Foundation that have now enabled him to live life with dignity. “KZSVS and SELCO Foundation came as a godsend to me. Only for them, I am now able to earn. I have also engaged a girl and a boy who are my relatives. They assist me in running my JSK without any monthly salary, but I meet their expenses whenever required.” he said.
