College lecturer moonlights as a railway porter in Odisha
College lecturer moonlights as a railway porter in Odisha
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Bhubaneswar: Any pupil arriving by train at Berhampur Railway Station would recognize their teacher Ch Nageshu Patro dressed as a porter but would be perplexed. For, unbeknownst to them, he leads a double life. It's all for their benefit. He works as a lecturer during the day and as a porter at night, dressed in a red shirt with a gamcha on his shoulders.
Patro's story, as reported in the media, describes how this Ganjam district citizen has been working as a registered porter since 2011.
After the COVID-19 outbreak, his life changed. "I lost my job when the pandemic began and train travel was prohibited." Instead of sitting idle, I began instructing students in Class X," Patro, 31, an Odia postgraduate, told the media.
Later, he established a coaching center for largely impoverished children in Classes VIII through XII. He taught Hindi and Odia himself, but had to hire professors for other subjects. Working as a porter earns him Rs 10000 to Rs 12000 a month, which he uses to pay the teachers' salaries.
Patro has four teachers whom he pays between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 every month. His teaching positions pay him roughly Rs 8,000 per month. According to the media, Patro is paid Rs 200 per lesson as a guest professor and can teach up to seven classes per week.
"I could not stand in the high school certificate examination in 2006 as a regular candidate because my parents, who graze goats and sheep, were unable to afford money to spend on my education," he told the reporters. I was obliged to relocate to Surat, Gujarat, in quest of work."
He came home after falling ill while working at a textile plant in Surat for about two years. He then relocated to Hyderabad to work as a salesman in a shopping mall. In December 2011, he found a job as a railway porter while still living here. During this time, he made the decision to take the Class XII exam by correspondence in 2012. After passing the HSC test, he attended Berhampur University as a regular student, working as a porter at night, according to media reports.
