In a deviation from the practice of honouring achievers on International Women’s Day, vegetable sellers and servant maids were felicitated to mark the occasion here on Tuesday.
Many women sacrifice their life silently but hardly they get any recognition from society or family members. For instance, day starts as early as 4 a.m. for milk vendors, vegetable sellers and servant maids who plan their time efficiently and achieve a fine work-life balance.
It is this section of women who got the rare honour, thanks to AP Lidcap former Director S. Venkata Ramana Madiga’s innovative thought. Vegetable seller Adhikaralla Lakshmi and servant maids Jayamma, Anuradha and Lakshmi were felicitated in his office. They were invited in a polite manner and offered a shawl and a bouquet besides a small cash prize.
Surprised and overjoyed at the gesture, A. Lakshmi said that she had struggled a lot to ensure a decent life for her family and education to children. Her life would begin at 4.30 a.m. every day with the buying of vegetables at wholesale shops. Small vendors face many troubles as they lack proper storage facilities like refrigerators to keep the unsold stock, she said.
Mr. Ramana urged people to treat daily wagers and other workers with respect and love since their services were needed for everyone to lead a happy life. He urged the government to extend financial assistance to petty vendors to help them generate more income to meet the ever increasing expenses.
