Chandrayaan-3 technician forced to sell idlis after govt failed to pay salaries for 18 months
Says he has not been able to pay school fees of his children
In a recent report by the BBC, the plight of Deepak Kumar Uprariya, a technician who played a pivotal role in constructing ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 launchpad, has come to the forefront. Due to a distressing situation, he has been forced to sell idlis at a roadside stall in Ranchi to sustain his family.
Uprariya's predicament stems from his employer, Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited (HEC), a Government of India Company. Despite contributing to the construction of the folding platform and sliding door for Chandrayaan-3, Uprariya claims that he and approximately 2,800 other HEC employees have not received their salaries for a staggering 18 months.
Chandrayaan-3 achieved a significant milestone by executing a soft landing on the Moon's South Pole in August, marking India as the first nation to accomplish this feat. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised ISRO scientists and addressed the Chandrayaan mission's launchpad workers during this momentous event, the HEC employees in Ranchi were grappling with their unresolved salary arrears.
Speaking with the BBC, Uprariya revealed that he resorted to selling idlis to make ends meet, working tirelessly to manage his shop and office responsibilities simultaneously. His daily routine involves selling idlis in the morning, attending the office in the afternoon, and returning to sell idlis in the evening.
Uprariya recounted his financial struggle, saying, "First I managed my household expenses with a credit card and incurred a loan of ₹2 lakh, which I ultimately defaulted on. Subsequently, I began borrowing money from relatives. To date, I have accumulated a debt of four lakh rupees. Unable to secure additional loans, I even resorted to mortgaging my wife's jewelry for a temporary respite."
He further explained his decision to sell idlis, stating, "I felt like the time of starvation had come upon me. My wife makes excellent idlis, and I earn between ₹300 to ₹400 daily, with a profit margin of ₹50-100. I am sustaining my household with this income."
Originally from the Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, Uprariya joined HEC in 2012, hoping for a promising future in this government-owned company. However, circumstances did not align with his expectations.
He lamented the impact on his family, particularly his two daughters who attend school. "This year, I haven't been able to pay their school fees, and the school continually sends notices. My daughters face humiliation in class when teachers ask the children of HEC employees to stand up. Witnessing my children in tears breaks my heart, but I don't let them see me cry," Mr. Uprariya shared.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
