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Journalism of Courage
After a fall from a building two years ago, Ramesh Chalvadi was paralysed waist down. No one was willing to employ him. Now, thanks to an idea an enterprising young man borrowed from his grandfather, Chalvadi is on the move, earning money. All he has got to do is go around in his wheelchair. Since Navratri, Chalvadi has been moving in the city, with a billboard strapped to the wheelchair. The space on the billboard has been sold to a company for advertisement. It8217;s the brainchild of Shridhar Bedekar of Shridhar Arts, but he says he borrowed it.
8220;My grandfather tried out this concept on a cart in 1930. It worked. I thought, why not do something similar for the physically challenged. A lot of trucks carry billboards but they rarely enter the city. Autorickshaws carry advertisements, but they are zipping around at high speed,8221; says Bedekar.
Bedekar8217;s idea has helped 22-year-old Bhivaji Murlidhar Gaikwad, who has been physically challenged since birth. 8220;The money I earned as a paper vendor was meagre. Today, the monthly income of Rs 2,500 makes me feel I am contributing significantly to my family income,8221; says Gaikwad, who got married six months back.
Initially, the response to Bedekar8217;s idea was not very encouraging. But now banks, coaching classes and even builders are keen on advertising in this manner. 8220;I am doing it with the sole motive of generating employment for the physically challenged. We plan to approach the state government for government advertisements too,8221; he says. Considering the traffic chaos, going around the city with the billboards from 9 am to 5 pm everyday is tedious.
Bedekar, not one to be caught without a new idea, comes up with a solution. He plans to equip the wheelchairs with motors.
