Netizens Want Padma Shri For This 69-Year Old Paralysed Man From Kerala

NS Rajappan from Manianikkara, Kottayam has been collecting discarded plastic waste from the Vembanad Lake for the past 5 years. Although he doesn’t own a boat, he hires a tiny one every day and sets out early in the morning to collect plastic bottles dumped in the waters.
He couldn’t bear to see the plastic bottles being thrown into the lake around which he grew up. He voluntarily took up the job of collecting these bottles and sold them to a local agency that collects plastic. Rajappan was stricken with polio when he was just five years old and has been paralysed ever since.
“Since I couldn’t move my legs, I’ve never had the chance to take up a daily wage job, so I’ve been doing jobs like these to make a living. One kilogram of plastic earns me Rs.12, so even if I collect a whole boat of plastic bottles, it’s not much. But I still do it because the least I’m doing is saving the lake and to me, that’s all that really matters,” he explains.
During the 2018 Kerala floods, Rajappan’s house faced a lot of damage and was completely flooded. Even then, Rajappan didn’t ask for help and managed to live in a boat for a few weeks. Over the past few months, Rajappan saw the amount of plastic waste decreasing in the lake due to the number of tourists going down. “Even though this means that I might not be able to make enough money, I’m just glad that the lake will stay clean,” says Rajappan.
Several netizens have applauded Rajappan’s efforts to keep the lake clean despite his circumstances but his struggles continue. Rajappan chettan deserves all the goodness in the world for the work he has been doing over the years. We hope we can all come together and help build a new home for him and support him financially, especially at a crucial time like this. 
If you wish to help Rajappan, you can donate to the account number provided below:
Rajappan.N.S
Account No: 17760100068162
IFSC code: FDRL0001776
Federal Bank Kumarakom

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