Assam girl shows dignity of labour by selling veggies on bicycle, gets moped as gift

To assist her mother in her vegetable business, Janmoni had dropped out after Class 12 two years ago.
Janmoni Gogoi receives the moped from the cops (Photo| EPS)
Janmoni Gogoi receives the moped from the cops (Photo| EPS)

GUWAHATI: A girl pedaling her way into villages to sell vegetables is not a common sight in Assam. So, when videos of hers eking out a living that way went viral on the social media, it touched not just people but also the police.

The police in Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh district on Monday gifted Janmoni Gogoi (20), a college dropout who hails from Jamirah Sapekati Ghogora village in the district, a moped. Niranjan Bagaria, a social worker, donated a wheelchair for her ailing father who is immobile. Help is pouring in for the family.

To assist her mother in her vegetable business, Janmoni had dropped out after Class 12 two years ago. Trouble stared at the family when the government imposed the COVID-19 lockdown, banning daily business in village markets. It was then that Janmoni took it upon herself to sell vegetables on her bicycle.

Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police Sreejith T told The New Indian Express that they had gifted the two-wheeler to Janmoni to empower her and encourage others to take up entrepreneurship.

“In our last video conference, our DGP sir (Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta) had mentioned that from being a mere law-enforcement agency, we should move forward and become facilitator of economy. We were thinking on those lines when we learnt about this girl. We thought we should empower her and this, in turn, will get others interested in entrepreneurship,” Sreejith said.

He said the girl had so much self-respect that she refused to accept money offered by some people.

Janmoni said she was very happy to have received the moped.

“We will remain indebted to the police and others who helped us. I will now be able to carry a larger amount of vegetables. I know how to ride it (moped) but I don’t have a licence. I have to apply for it,” the soft-spoken girl said.

She said the amount that she earns by selling vegetables gives her family two square meals every day.

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The New Indian Express
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