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09/22/2005

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Deewan Singh delivers goods in Bathinda — Tribune photo by Kulbir Beera

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Bathinda, September 21
At an age when most people lead a cushy retired life, Mr Deewan Singh, a septuagenarian, transports goods on his hand-pulled cart on the city roads to eke out his livelihood. Talking to The Tribune here, Mr Deewan Singh said his family was well off in the pre-Partition era and his father had 10 acres of land in Mominpura, near Lahore. “We lost everything in the bloodshed of 1947 and migrated to Bathinda with whatever little we could save from rioters,” he averred.

Being uneducated, he began working as a daily wage earner at the local Grain Market.

A father of three daughters and two sons, he soon switched over to pulling a cart, as he had a big family to support.

Earlier, he would earn enough to fulfil his family responsibilities. He married his sons and daughters, besides ensuring a roof over their head. One of his sons works as a carpenter, while the other is jobless.

“Times have changed now. With new means of transportation, I hardly have any work. At times I return without earning a single penny,” laments Mr Deewan Singh.

He is content even if earns a mere Rs 25-30 a day. His old age has also taken a toll on his income. He can neither work in the harsh summer nor the bone-chilling winter days.

Once he had to deliver furniture to the NFL premises, which is about 7 km from the market. Though he got Rs 70 for the job, he could not leave the bed for three days after that due to body pains.

He got his eyes operated upon a few years back for which a philanthropist had borne all expenses.

He said he had applied for old age pension, but got no aid from the government. “I don’t expect any help from anybody and I’m happy with the way I am,” said Mr Deewan Singh before pulling his way to deliver goods.

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