This man ferries people across a Mumbai gutter for Re 1

Mumbai is the city of dreams. Every day, hundreds and thousands of migrants from various parts of the country throng the city to fulfil their dream. From Bollywood aspirations to wanting to become the next best batsman, the city has been romanticised for several years in books, newspapers and magazines, as the place one has to visit to have made it into the big league. 

Even if the dream isn’t fulfilled, the very idea that ‘I tried making a living in Mumbai’ becomes a tale of folklore at the individual’s native place. This probably explains the number of taxi and auto drivers, security guards, dhobis and thousands of others who are hailed as heroes in their native land, even though they advise their fellow villagers to not venture out and stick to farming as it is the ‘safer and more economically secure option’.

A tale untold
Somewhere in the human chain of those looking to have a better life in the city is Sanjay Wagela, a 25-year-old resident of a slum near Gazdhar Bandh, Santacruz (W). For the past 11 years, Wagela, a school dropout, has been ferrying people in his slum pocket on a raft through a six feet wide nallah so that they can commute from the slums to the Juhu beach. He charges them Re 1 for this journey—an amount he has no plans of increasing, given that everyone in the area comprise family and friends.
“Previously, we lived in Khar but my father decided to move here. However, my father struggled to make a living here, which resulted in me dropping out of school in Class 5. Earlier, my friends and I would ferry across the nallah using a regular plank, but once I began the business I built a stronger raft, which could carry the weight of at least seven people together weighing 80 kg,” says Wagela.

After dropping out of school, Wagela and his friends built a raft using old wood, thermocol and made it sturdy enough to not capsize under the weight of a few people. This raft now ferries around 300 people a day. “Sunday is usually a good day because I make Rs. 600, as compared to the Rs. 300 I make on the other days,” he says.
Wagela’s raft has turned out to be a massive success due to the time people save commuting from Gazdhar Bandh to Juhu Koliwada. The road journey for the same distance takes about 15–20 minutes, depending on the traffic, but the raft ferries people in less than a minute. “We don’t charge more than a rupee because we want the service to be affordable to all,” he says. 

A friend in need
Two of Wagela’s friends, Suraj and Saurav, who led this reporter to Wagela, say that he has become the local hero for the service he provides. “It makes going to the beach easier because we simply have to go across the drain, which wasn’t possible earlier because of the nallah’s depth,” says Saurav. Both the boys, who are taking their Class 10 exams this year, say that they also enjoy helping Wagela every day. “We see him work and realise that he has sacrificed a lot for his family by dropping out of school and earning at such a young age. We learn from him and look to him for inspiration when we feel sad,” adds Suraj.
Currently, Wagela supports his parents and three younger siblings, but rues the fact that his siblings have dropped out of school. “They tell me that they don’t understand the lessons and feel that education will not help them. Unfortunately, I spend most of my day (between 6 a.m.to 9 p.m.) ferrying the raft, so by the time I get home, I’m exhausted and don’t have the energy to argue with them. I just hope that they understand that education will help them in the future,” says Wagela.
Wagela’s raft has had several people along the line of the nallah starting their own raft business where they ferry people across the width of the drain. While this has become a lucrative business model for them, their lives haven’t improved financially. However, Wagela isn’t deterred by the problems he faces. “I have been doing this for several years. I don’t see myself stopping this service any time in the future,” he concludes.

This story originally appeared in www.iamin.in