Deepak Kumar Uprariya, a technician at HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited) who worked on ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 launchpad, is reportedly selling idlis to make ends meet.
According to the BBC, Uprariya owns a stall opposite the Old Legislative Assembly in the Dhurwa area of Ranchi.
“He opened his roadside stall after HEC, a Government of India Company (CPSU) that made the folding platform and sliding door for Chandrayaan-3, did not pay his salary for 18 months,” as per BBC report.
According to the report, around 2,800 employees of the HEC have not received their salaries for the past 18 months and Uprariya is amongst them.
Speaking to the BBC, Uprariya said that he has been selling idlis for the past few days to make ends meet. He has been managing his shop and office work together.
The technician sells idlis in the morning and goes to the office in the afternoon. He again sells idlis in the evening after returning from office.
Uprariya is a native of Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, as per the BBC report. He left his position with a private company in 2012 and began working for HEC. With this government job, he had anticipated a bright future, but things did not work out as he had thought.
Uprariya explained his condition by saying, “At first, I used a credit card to manage my home. But became default for 2 lakh rupees. After that, I started running the house by taking money from family members.”
“I have so far borrowed 4 lakh rupees. People have stopped lending to me as I haven’t paid anyone back. Then I mortgaged my wife's jewellery and ran the house for a few days,” he continued.
The technician further said that he began selling idlis when he believed the 'time of starvation' had arrived. My wife cooks delicious idlis. I sell them every day and make between 300 and 400 rupees. I make 50-100 rupees profit.