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Thiruvananthapuram
Auto help!
FOR A NOBLE CAUSE: Help ever is his motto.
Autorickshaws in Hyderabad! Well, their meters rotate much faster than the rotor blades of a helicopter. Auto drivers in the city! The less said the better about their etiquette. When it comes to duping passengers, they leave others way behind. Perhaps, they top the list of the most hated category on the road - from the motorists as well as cops.
But this auto driver is in a different league, where very few of his peers can ever gain entry. He offers free travel. Shocked? Yes, but only to physically handicapped. Not a single pie is charged for them and Reynold Michael, the man in control of the wheels, gains pleasure worth thousands from it.
The bold letters at the rear of his auto are quite glaring "Free travel for physically handicapped, don't hesitate to approach the driver". In a city, where people fear to approach autowallahs fearing their fleecing tactics, Reynold's auto provides lots of comfort. But the man is full of humility. "It's no service compared to our soldiers on the borders,'' he says. Incidentally, as a kid, he too wanted to wear the uniform. The noble gesture got into his mind, when he saw a crippled man pleading for help from motorists zooming past in pouring rain four years ago.
``People turn cautious when I offer them to drop. But, I tell them about my service and the sparkle in their eyes while getting down gives me enormous pleasure,'' says this fourth class drop out. On the advice of a passenger, he now maintains a diary of the disabled he drops freely. He loves sharing his experiences with his two kids.
The free drives affect him financially, but he feels it's not a loss, but sharing a bit of his profit with the unfortunate. Interestingly, he is yet to pay the total money of his vehicle to financiers. The Government and social organisations should promote such people through their finance schemes. How about providing an auto for him?
By Ravikanth Reddy R
Photo: P.V. Sivakumar
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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