Kottayam: N S Rajappan is 72 years old. As both his legs have been paralysed by polio, Rajappan can only move by using his hands. But even then he manages to get on to his country boat, and rows towards the Vembanad backwaters.
In addition to being his means for a livelihood, this daily journey through the backwaters has a message too - Do not pollute the backwaters. Rajappan returns after collecting plastic waste from the backwaters. He then sells the plastic scrap to earn a living. This has been his life for the past six years.
A native of Manjadikkara in Kumarakom of Kottayam district, Rajappan leaves his home around 9am. By the time he returns home with a boat full of plastic bottles, it would be late evening. Sometimes, he returns only the next day. If that's the case, he would tie the boat by the banks of the canal and sleep on board.
"I make enough to live by. Also, the backwaters and canals would be clean to some extent," Rajappan said.
Rajappan has to depend entirely on his hands to move around. Though he tried to do several jobs, he could not continue in those due to health issues. With this, he turned to relatively less tiresome jobs. He had initially taken a boat for daily rent. Then due to the efforts of voluntary outfits he was able to get a boat of his own.
The plastic bottles picked up from the backwaters are put into gunny bags. When he returns, someone would have to help him to carry the gunny bag on to the land.
Rajappan stayed alone at a ramshackle house at Manjadikkara till last year, with his neighbours providing him with food. However, this house was destroyed in the 2019 floods, and he had to shift to his sister Vilasini's home.
"Sometimes I get a boat full of plastic bottles. But even then, it would be less than 1kg. If I sell 1kg of plastic bottles, I get only Rs 12. As long as my body permits, I would go to the backwaters and pick up plastic," Rajappan said.
