VARAPUZHA:Call it a transposed form of ‘one man’s diet becoming unpalatable to the other’.But this is precisely what’s happening with ragpickers who are having a field day while the flood-ravaged are trying to stitch back the lives torn asunder.
The ragpickers are able to earn a huge sum as household goods in flood-hit areas have been dumped en masse by their former owners.According to Mommeen, 32, from Kolkata, he has been making at least Rs 2, 000 daily for the last one week.
Though he is greatly saddened by the flood victims’ plight, this is the first time in the last five years — Mommeen came to Kochi in 2013 — he had it so good. “Usually, we could earn around Rs 500 by collecting household scrap. But post the floods, people are dumping household goods and we make at least Rs 2,000 now. Now, in the post-flood scenario we are even able to make upto Rs 4,000. If we get wires and scrap iron, we can earn a good amount,” he said.
Ragpickers from outside focus on flood-hit areas
The collected scrap is taken to yards in Edappally and Kalamassery. The ragpickers say the scrap dealers pay Rs 300 for a kg of copper wire. For aluminium utensils, they receive Rs 60 per kg. The steel scrap fetches Rs 20 per kg. Plastic refuse gets Rs 10 per kg and scrap iron yields Rs 50 per kg.
“Earlier, we had to go door-to-door to procure junk. Now, the junk is dumped by the roadside. We only have to segregate reusable scrap from the waste dump,” said Chottu, a Kolkata native.However, there is stiff competition as several ragpickers from other districts have descended on the flood-hit areas. “Earlier, one or two persons used to collect scrap from a locality. But post flood, ragpickers from other places have flocked to Ernakulam. Now, there are over 10 persons engaged in collecting scrap in one locality,” Chottu said.
“Currently, we don’t have any problems in getting along as dumped household goods are available in huge quantities. Once the scrap materials dry up, there will be frayed nerves. We hope the gold mine will last at least a fortnight,” he added.