Mission accomplished, Hajabba is back in Hampankatta

[email protected] (CD Network)
June 27, 2012

1_27

Mangalore, June 27: Days after setting up a high school in the backward Newpadpu area near Konaje, Hajabba was back in business in the Hampankatta area here on Monday, selling fruit to earn a living.


It has been nearly 10 months since the unlettered man from Harekala was seen in Hampankatta. Mr. Hajabba has followed his dream of setting up a primary school and subsequently a high school at Newpadpu.


“I fell off an 8-ft-high slab of the under-construction high school building in August last year. I sprained my hip and had to take complete rest for a couple of months. Once I was up and about, I was completely immersed in the work on the new building. Now I am back here doing my 'kasubu' [profession],” he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.


How did he see himself through the last 10 months? “I have well-wishers who send me some money every month. A headmaster from Mulbagal in Kolar has been sending me a donation of Rs. 150 every month for the last 10 years. A retired engineer from Chitradurga has been giving me Rs. 130 every month from February,” he said. As is his wont, Hajabba always highlights the little gestures, oblivious to the selfless sacrifices he has made to accomplish the mission of his life.


Mr. Hajabba, who has a wife, son and two daughters, said: “My son worked as a labourer for nearly a year during the construction of the new school building. He used to earn Rs. 350 a day. We depended on his money during this period,” he said.


Does he notice any change in the way his customers treat him now since he has become a household name in the district. “I see a lot of change. People recognise me straight away and greet me. A lot of them are very generous and don't even bargain. There are people who wonder how this man could be selling fruit. But this is my 'kasubu'. I have been doing it since 1978,” says Mr. Hajabba, who came into the limelight after being selected as the Person of the Year in 2004 by a Kannada daily. He was chosen as one of the Real Heroes by CNN-IBN in 2009. Mr. Hajabba ploughed back the Rs. 5 lakh he got as award money to buy a plot for the high school.


The 55-year-old fruit vendor, however, does not seem to be worried about the business so much as he is focussed on his new goal. “I earned about Rs. 120 on Saturday. I had to leave early since I had to meet [Minister Vishweshwara Hegde] Kageri. I went to the Circuit House and gave him a memorandum demanding a pre-university college for Newpadpu. He promised to consider the request favourably,” he said.

2_17

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
coastaldigest.com news network
May 17,2020

Mangaluru, May 17: Former health minister U T Khader demanded that the authorities carry out a scientific analysis of the five deaths that occurred due to Covid-19 in Dakshina Kannada. 

“The number of fatalities vis-à-vis the number of positive cases in the district is worrying, and the district administration and health department should not take the matter lightly. Lapses, if any, in dealing with the co-morbidity factors should be addressed, lest it become a major health challenge,” he warned.

Addressing reporters on Saturday, Khader, said only carrying out such types of analysis will help the health department combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in the future. “At present, the only data available with the health authorities here and in the state war room, is the number of people tested and number of positive cases,” Khader said.

“Any strategy to combat Covid-19 must be built around scientific analysis of causes of how the disease is spreading and to do so, concrete efforts must be made to find the source of the cluster at the First Neuro Hospital in Padil. A analysis of reasons that caused the deaths, will also come in handy for the authorities to prepare suitable advisories for the people, who in turn could take informed decisions,” Khader noted.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 26,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 26: The police remand of student activist Amulya Leona Noronha, who was produced before a Magistrate, after a no-show at the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, was extended by 10 more days.

The Fifth Additional Metropolitan Magistrate at the Magistrate's home on Tuesday night had remanded her to police custody for 10 days, less than the 14 days asked for by the Special Investigative Team, considering that she has already spent over four days in judicial custody.

Amulya Noronha, a student of NMKRV College for Women, had raised pro-Pakistan slogans by shouting ''Pakistan Zindabad'' at an anti-CAA protest in Bangalore on 20th February following which the city police filed a case of sedition against her.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 25,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 25: Teacher-turned-serial rapist-cum-killer Cyanide Mohan Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment in the 20th and final case by Sixth Additional District and Sessions Judge Sayeedunnisa on Wednesday.

Cyanide Mohan Kumar (57) was declared guilty in the 20th rape and murder case on Saturday and the judge had pronounced the order before a small group of advocates in the court hall. Cyanide Mohan who appeared in the court hall via video conferencing facility from Hindalga central jail in Belagavi did not show any emotions.

The 25-year-old victim from Kasaragod was working as a cook in a hostel and met Mohan, serving as a teacher in 2009. He had met her at her home on many occasions and had promised to marry her.

On July 8, 2009, she left home on the pretext of visiting a temple in Sullia and

did not return. When her family tried to reach her on phone, Cyanide Mohan had told they were married and would return home soon.

Mohan took her to a toilet in a bus stand in Bengaluru on July 15, 2009, and had left with her jewels after ascertaining that she had died by consuming Cyanide. No sooner Mohan was arrested in October 2009, the family of the victim had recognised him from the newspapers. The police also recovered the victim’s jewellery from the house of Mohan’s second wife.

Sixth Additional District and Session Court convicted Mohan under sections of IPC 302 for murder with life sentence and Rs 25,000 fine, IPC 366 for kidnapping with ten years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 5000 fine, IPC 376 for rape with seven years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 5000 fine, IPC 328 for poisoning with ten years of imprisonment, IPC 394 for causing hurt while robbing with 10 years of imprisonment and Rs 5000 fine, IPC 392 for theft with five years of imprisonment, IPC 201 for destroying evidence with seven years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 5000 fine, IPC 417 cheating and one year of imprisonment.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.