Sundar Rajan (45), a differently-abled daily wager from Karidivaripalle hamlet of Bangarupalem mandal, has never expected that he would be riding a brand new tricycle from the Collectorate, a dream that he has cherished for the last four decades.
The man, whose legs were crippled due to polio when he was an infant, ekes out livelihood doing odd jobs at his neighborhood and depends on the good Samaritans. Having walked on crutches for several years, in recent years he found it difficult to pull on the weight.
On Monday, he crawled himself up to the Collectorate after alighting an auto-rikshaw.
When he tried to reach Collector P.S. Pradyumna, some lower staff tried to prevent him from entering the grievance cell hall. Spotting him from a distance, the Collector gestured the staff to allow him inside.
Collector’s directive
An exhausted Sundar Rajan informed the Collector that he had been crawling on the floor ever since he was a child, and he always dreamt of moving in a tricycle.
“I am a helpless Dalit, sir. Tricycle is my dream ever since I was a child. The vehicle can help me earn a little more decent living,” he said.
In a few seconds, the Collector sought the officials of the Department of Physically Challenged to get a brand new tricycle for the man. When an official said he would process the case in a few days, Mr. Pradyumna said Sundar Rajan should get the cycle immediately. The department staff rushed to their adjoining block in the Collectorate and returned in less than five minutes, carrying a tricycle.
Smiling all the way, with tears down his worn down cheeks, Sundar Rajan looked flabbergasted. He said he had visited the Collectorate earlier a number of times in heat and rain, all the way from his hamlet, for a tricycle. The man tried his best to express his gratitude to the Collector, but the latter kept himself busy with other grievances. Helped to be seated on his ‘dream vehicle’, Sundar Rajan said he felt like a king, and had no immediate words to express his feelings.
