Chandrayaan 3 created a momentous milestone by successfully touching down on the moon’s southern pole, establishing India as the inaugural country to achieve this remarkable feat. This moon mission garnered widespread international praise for the dedication and expertise of ISRO‘s scientists and engineers. Nevertheless, in stark contrast, one of the technicians who contributed to the construction of Chandrayaan-3 ‘s launchpad is currently grappling with financial difficulties, despite the mission’s global acclaim.
Technician yet to receive salary for 18 months
Deepak Kumar Uprariya, an employee at HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited), a Government of India Company (CPSU) responsible for constructing India’s moon mission launchpad, has resorted to selling idlis at a roadside stall in Ranchi as a means to sustain himself financially. As reported by the BBC, Uprariya established his roadside stall opposite the Old Legislative Assembly in the Dhurwa area of Ranchi due to the unfortunate circumstance of not receiving his salary from the company for a staggering period of 18 months.
Uprariya said that he has resorted to selling idlis in order to meet his financial needs. He has been juggling his idli business and office responsibilities simultaneously, operating his idli stall in the morning, attending to his office duties in the afternoon, and once again selling idlis in the evening before returning home.
He added, “First I managed my house with a credit card. I got a loan of Rs 2 lakh. I was declared a defaulter. After that, I started running the house by taking money from relatives. So far I have taken a loan of four lakh rupees. As I have not returned the money to anyone, people have stopped lending. Then I mortgaged my wife’s jewellery and ran the house for a few days.”
Uprariya speaks on his challenges
Continuing further, he stated, “My wife makes good idlis. I get 300 to 400 rupees every day by selling them. I make a profit of 50-100 rupees. I am running my house on this money.” Uprariya originally comes from the Harda district of Madhya Pradesh. In 2012, he made the decision to leave his position at a private company and joined HEC with a monthly salary of Rs 8,000. With the belief that working for a government company would offer him a promising future, he had high hopes. Unfortunately, circumstances did not unfold in his favor.
He further said, “I have two daughters. Both go to school. This year I have not been able to pay their school fees yet. Daily notices are being sent by the school. Even in the classroom, teachers ask who are the children of parents working in HEC to stand up, My children are humiliated after this. My daughters come home crying. It breaks my heart to see them cry. But I don’t cry in front of them.”
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