Technician Behind ISRO's Chandrayaan - 3 Launchpad Earns Livelihood By Selling Idlis

A technician who worked in HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited) who worked for building ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 launchpad, was found selling idlis in Ranchi.

The technician has been recognised as Deepak Kumar Uprariya. According to a BBC report, Deepak who hails from Madhya Pradesh's Harda district quit his job in a private company and joined HEC on a salary of ₹ 8,000. However, he was later compelled to open a stall on the roadside stall.

According to Deepak, HEC - a Government of India Company (CPSU) that made the folding platform and sliding door for Chandrayaan-3 - did not pay his salary for 18 months.

Uprariya said that he has been selling idlis to make ends meet. He sells idlis in the morning and goes to the office in the afternoon. In the evening, he again sells idlis before heading back home.

"First I managed my house with a credit card. I got a loan of ₹ 2 lakh. I was declared a defaulter. After that, I started running the house by taking money from relatives," Uprariya was quoted saying this.

He further said that he has taken a loan of Rs 4 lakhs and failed to repay back the loan amount due to which the lenders have stopped him paying. He also mortgaged his wife's jewellery and ran the house for a few days.

Later he decided to sell idlis to run his family. "My wife makes good idlis. I get 300 to 400 rupees every day by selling them. I make a profit of 50-100 rupees. I am running my house on this money," he was quoted as saying.

Uprariya has a shop opposite the Old Legislative Assembly in the Dhurwa area of Ranchi.

According to the BBC, around 2,800 employees of the HEC claim they did not received their salaries for the past 18 months.