Coimbatore: Sitting in a small room inside a corporation night shelter here, a 43-year-old man has earned a few lakh of rupees by assembling LED bulbs and selling them to companies across the country.
He was abandoned by his family 18 years ago after he met with an accident that paralysed his lower body, said L Selvanathan. But that did not deter him. With the help of some sponsors, he completed an order of assembling 600 LED bulbs for a company in New Delhi last year.
A native of Udumalpettai, Selvanathan has an elder brother and four younger sisters. “My mother died when I was in class VIII. I had to discontinue my studies after her death and began working in mills and other companies. I even went to Chennai and worked as a crane driver. It was there that I met a man named Gunashekar, who taught me electrical work. He taught me how to assemble home appliances,” he told TOI.
In 2000, he met with an accident that damaged his spinal cord. “I became paralysed. I was undergoing treatment at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital. After my family got to know that I won’t be able to walk again, I was abandoned. They stopped visiting me. I was admitted in various charitable homes in the city,” he said.
M Arul Mary Philomena, a good Samaritan, rescued him and allowed him to stay in a room near her house. “She even helped me get some work,” he said.
Selvanathan said that he did not like being idle and always wanted to support himself. “Even though I could not walk, I wanted to do something and prove to the society that I am capable,” he said. More than the society, he wanted to earn some money and then get back with his family someday.
Another inmate of the shelter, N Neelakantan, a retired government official, helped Selvanathan get the orders. “We checked online for some companies and paid a deposit of Rs 25,000. They sent us all the raw materials and we assembled them. But, since he is alone, we could only assemble 100 a month. They cancelled the order as we were sending smaller consignments. We have already started looking for companies in Coimbatore that can give us job work,” said Neelankaantan.
Gangadharan, the supervisor at the corporation night shelter, said that he always motivated the inmates to do productive work. “I am very proud of his achievement. We are also in talks with some doctors, who said he may be able to walk after an operation. We can use the money he earns for the treatment,” he said.