On a noble quest, UP labourer quenches thirst of commuters

Kashish Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, June 26

Ramesh Yadav, 70, a migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh, currently residing at Paloura, Jammu, is into a noble cause quenching thirst of people in the area by serving them cold water in the scorching summers for the past 10 years.

Hundreds of miles away from his native village Rampur in UP’s Moradabad, Yadav took to this selfless, non-profitable vocation without any personnel benefit, but says, “Reaching out to thirsty and serving them cold water gives me eternal satisfaction”.

Yadav belongs to a labour class family that migrated from Rampur village in search of work to Jammu. The idea of serving water was given to him by his friend who had already been into it. His family supports him morally as well as financially but he lives alone in Jammu.

“All other members of my family work as daily earners in nearby areas. Though I do not take up any labour work, I am well-supported by my family for my financial needs required for this cause,” said Yadav who stays in the Gho-Manasa area of Jammu.

He had started as a daily earner 20 years ago when his family moved to Jammu.

“Later, I left the daily wage works and took up serving people on roads by offering them water. This is most satisfying job and I will like to do it till my last breath,” he said. He does this without any break from dusk to dawn. His noble exercise continues in both summers as well as in winters. Yadav arranges water and ice from nearby areas and manages this task all alone.