Unemployment problem ?
Study the stories of these unsung heroes
Source: The Sangai Express / Soubam Bokuljaoba

Imphal, February 08: In the struggle for survival, if one is not choosy enough, then one can easily run one's family and send one's children to private schools for education by being just a cobbler.

This is the story of some 13 people who have successfully taken up mending shoes as their profession in the State where most of the people normally shun manual work and are hankering after white-coloured jobs.

After the 1979 foreigner issue over domination of the job market by migrant workers, and the subsequent exodus of non-local residents, some 20 natives, most of them local residents of Top Khongnang Makhong under Imphal East District, came out and started mending shoes along the BT Road of Imphal.

Out of these 20 natives, some of them have passed away.

But 13 of them are still engaged in the profession earning enough income to run their families and send their children to private schools.

DIGNITY OF LABOUR : Native cobblers at work

Interacting with The Sangai Express, Md Ata of Top Khongnang Makhong of Imphal East District, one of the native cobblers who was among the first to set up their shoe-mending sheds along the BT Road and is still engaged in the work, said 'With my business doing well, my wife does not need to go in search of work anymore.

Now she stays at home looking after the family.

I can also send my children to private schools for their education and contribute Rs 500 as subscription rate for Marup every month'.

He went on to say, 'When we started the work, there were 20 of us.

We took up the work as a challenge though we did not have any formal training or experience in mending shoes after all the non-locals who were then engaged in the job left Manipur after the foreigner issue.

Still then, each of us could earn anywhere between Rs 400 to Rs 500 in a day easily as there was no other cobblers that time'.

While we were earning Rs 400 to Rs 500, we could even take part in the Marup where the subscription rate was Rs 1000', he recalled.

It is true that after many illegal migrant workers started coming in and take up the profession again, the amount of the daily income earned by these native cobblers has been lessen to a certain extent.

Yet, with whatever income they earned from mending the shoes, the native cobblers have been leading a happy and contented life without depending on anybody.

In between stitching up a torn leather chappal and applying gum to its sole to keep a brand new look, another co-worker identified as Md Ito said philosophically that work is God.

So there is no question of its smallness or bigness.

'Instead of begging or stealing from other people, it is better to some honest works and live your life without any guilt.

That is happiness', he added.

However, these native cobblers are not without some difficulties in their chosen profession.

Apart from competing with other non-local cobblers whose number are ever increasing, lack of a proper place for them to carry on with their trade is another problem that these native cobblers have been facing.

Expressing their desire on the part of the State Government to make arrangement for providing a proper place, they informed that a memorandum had been submitted to the Chief Minister in this regard some two months back but no response has been ever received.