Ragpickers who saved Delhi

Ragpickers who saved Delhi
Sidharth Pandey
Monday, September 15, 2008, (New Delhi)

Without them Delhi's serial blasts could have been a lot worse. Two ragpickers who found two live bombs in dustbins at Children's Park at India Gate and near Regal Cinema in Connaught Place and alerted the police are getting Rs 50,000 each as a reward.

A 12-year-old baloon seller and two young rag-pickers are the capital's latest heroes while one of the boys is helping the police narrow down on the men who may have carried out one of the blasts, the other two prevented two bombs from exploding by alerting the police in time.

However, NGOs say that this is a bitter irony as the capital's 1 lakh street children are often at the receiving end of the law.

Connaught Place, the heart of Delhi, also home to thousands of street-children who are its eyes and ears but go unnoticed, unheard.

It's been a long walk for Javed and Sunil, both in their teens, from broken families one from Bareily the other from Madhya Pradesh.

A year ago, they ran away from their homes and came to Delhi looking for work. But all they managed to do is this risky business especially after live bombs were found in dustbins on Saturday.

"We are scared as we pick garbage and especially from dustbins it could be bomb and something may happen but what to do, it's about survival," said Mohammad Javed, ragpicker.

The two walk over five kilometers each day, looking for stuff that can be sold to scrap dealers, 40-50 rupees is all they earn, life on the streets is not easy.

"The problem is that people keep beating us up, especially if something like this happens," Javed added.

There are lakhs of children like Javed and Sunil who form an virtual invisible army which work on the streets of most Indian cities and for years NGOs have been asking the police not to treat them as a problem but as a solution.

"It is important that the police be sensitised and that they realise that we have to include these kids in society," said Sunil Gupta, Chief Executive, Chetna, NGO.

A day after the serial blasts, it's business as usual for Javed and Sunil walking the same stretch where two bombs exploded only hours ago.

Keeping off work would mean no food, the daily struggle for survival continues.