Waste-picker’s daughter clears police test: ‘All my tears, years of struggle finally worth it’

That dream is now turning real for Shayada and her father Roshan — and everyone else near their small pucca home in the densely populated low-income Jai Hind Nagar area of Pune. Shayada is all set to join the Pune Police constabulary.

On March 20, the 22-year-old participated in the physical efficiency test and, a month later, appeared for the written examination. “Over 8,000 candidates participated in the tests and only 700 were selected. It was just last week that I cleared the physical examination and the document verification — the last two hurdles. Now I am eager to undergo the nine-month training,” says Shayada with a wide smile.

“It really was my dream that my daughter would put on that khaki uniform one day,” says Roshan, 48. “Despite repeated taunts and criticism, especially from some family members, I stood by her. Today, it feels as if all my years of struggle are finally worth it,” he says.

Hailing from Darshanal village in Akkalkot taluka of Solapur district, the Makandars were landless labourers who worked on others’ fields. In 1993, Roshan and his wife Sairabanu migrated to Pune to find a new life. “But the only work open for us here was in waste-picking and recycling waste,” says Roshan, who has studied upto Class 5.

Shayada, who is a second-year student of Swaraj College of Commerce, is the eldest of their children followed by Altaf in Class 11 and Imran in Class 10. And, apart from her father’s support, she attributes her achievement to two organisations that helped her through the journey. The first is Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP), a trade union of waste-pickers. And the other is a private academy that prepares candidates for police recruitment and other competitive exams.

Aditya Vyas, the treasurer of KKPKP, says, “As a cooperative, we have taken a conscious decision to help children of waste-pickers in their education. We helped Shayada access free learning aids, including notebooks and other educational material.”

Shayada went on to score 82 per cent in her Class 12 state board exam, which earned her a cash prize of Rs 25,000 from the Pune Municipal Corporation. “That money helped me finance my studies and my preparation for the police services,” she says.

Roshan, meanwhile, was on the lookout for better opportunities for his daughter, and chanced upon a flyer of The New Maharashtra Academy in Pune. He soon got her enrolled. “When she first entered my cabin, she was doubtful whether she would even qualify to appear for the exams. I had to spend time assuaging her fears… She was weak physically but had nerves of steel and refused to give up. She never missed practice for a day,” says Omkar Khandagale, the academy’s director.

Shayada also mentioned police personnel Suraj Khadare as a “guide and mentor” in the quest.

“It was not easy, the physical training was exhausting. In fact, more than academics, it was the physical training that was more challenging. My preparations started last January but just after enrollment, I suffered a muscle injury while running. I knew that if I missed the training, I would lose out. So I took medicines and resumed. Studying was not easy, either. Getting a few minutes of silence at the locality where I stay was almost impossible. At times, I stayed up the whole night to compensate for the day lost,” she says.

Shayada now plans to complete her graduation and also hopes to appear for departmental examinations for promotions. “My dream is to shift my family to an apartment as soon as possible,” she says.

Roshan can’t help but have the final word. “People never left a chance to taunt me for allowing Shayada to pursue her dream. But this weekend, when they all came home to congratulate her, I just could not hold back my tears.”