Pune’s SWaCH worker sets an example

Pune’s SWaCH worker sets an example

PUNE: SWaCH waste picker Lakshmi Chavan, who collects waste in Shivajinagar area in Pune, went out of her way and set an example by returning the purse of a woman that she had found while she was in the middle of carrying ration supplies to the police.

“On Friday, I had gone to collect the ration supplied to us by Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP). While I was walking back home with my kit, I saw that a woman on a two-wheeler had dropped her purse near Dengle Bridge,” Chavan narrated.

Chavan said that she yelled to draw the attention of the woman. However, the woman could not hear her. She was in a dilemma about what to do next as she was carrying ration weighing around 10 kg.

“I was in turmoil. I was afraid of losing my ration as I could not chase the woman with so much weight. Finally, keeping my misgivings aside, I requested a passerby to guard my ration and walked to the nearest police station,” she added.

The policemen opened the purse and identified the owner through the documents in it and asked her to collect the purse.

The happy and grateful owner immediately rewarded Chavan with Rs 500 who then returned to find the passersby waiting patiently with her ration kit. She picked it up and walked back home. 

SWaCH has applauded Chavan’s kindness and presence of mind.

SWaCH is an autonomous cooperative of self-employed waste-pickers based in Pune. It is the country’s first worker-owned waste picker’s cooperative and is considered as a successful example of a pro-poor public-private partnership.

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