While passing through the busy footpaths of the city of dreams or the engine of economic growth of India, my eyes froze on a roadside shop, selling kanda pohe. He is getting it cooked from home in an aluminum box and selling it here without any proper shop. It’s been 5 months I have been passing from the same road but I never noticed this shop. Then I looked around and noticed few more people surviving on the footpath.
Thereafter I noticed the shop almost everyday and could conclude that this guy used to come there at morning 9 for a perid of approx 2 hrs. By observing the crowd on his stall, I decided to try his Pohe. I ate 2 plates of Pohe as it was delicious. He did not have any table or counter. He was just keeping his bags on footpath serving pohe in paper plates. He was an ex mill worker who lost his job because the mill was closed. I started taking Pohe prepared in typical north Indian style in that shop everyday. After couple of weeks, suddenly I did not find that guy there. I enquired about this guy at nearby pan shop. I came to know that BMC people have charged him heavily for selling without permission, because a nearby restaurant has complained against him.
I moved towards office with a low feeling that is this what we call development where a person cant survive if he is not economically powerful. Government itself is leaving no option for that guy to live honestly. If answer to the above question is yes then why not to organize these people in form of a co-operative group to help these poor people surviving roadside.
