Bant: Gobinda Sahu, a resident of Agarpada in Bhadrak district, is personification of courage, struggle and honesty. Despite his poverty, partial disability and helplessness in childhood, he has been managing his family of four by hawking newspapers.
With the crack of dawn, people in Agarpada bazaar look for him to get newspapers. In the wee hours, he leaves bed and rushes to the nearby bazaar to collect newspaper bundles sent to him by buses for distribution. Though he has lost his right palm, he has been doing his work with sincerity and honesty.
Born at Bauladiha in Mohantipada panchayat, Gobinda lost his father Kuna Sahu when he was 18-month-old. His mother Kamala was left to fend for herself and two minor sons. She ventured out and did odd jobs. But she died when Gobinda was only 15-year-old.
Left helpless, he looked for ways to survive and went to Delhi where he worked in a private firm as a machine operator.
As bad luck would have it, the palm of his right hand got severed while working. The accident happened just two months after his marriage. Crest-fallen and unfit to work there, he came back to the village.
To eke out a living, he started hawking newspapers and he has been doing it for the past five years. He carries newspapers on his bicycle riding it with one hand. His wife and two daughters – Sapna and Kalpana – help him in his work.
Like many others, he has never waited for government assistance, but started earning as a newspaper hawker. With meagre income, he has been educating his two daughters. Relying on hard work, he has set an example for youths who just idle away time.
PNN