He scales new heights with govt. recognition
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Coconut climber K. Sasi amongst ‘Thozhilali Sreshta’ awardees
Forty years in the past, K. Sasi selected to grow to be a coconut plucker. He liked his job and by no means turned again. Now 60, Mr. Sasi is on cloud 9 after bagging the ‘Thozhilali Sreshta’ award of the State authorities final week.
“I am a coconut tree climber and never expected to win an award. It is a great gesture on the part of the government to recognise people like me,” says Mr. Sasi, a resident of Mampuzhakari in Kuttanad.
Instituted by the Department of Labour and Skills, he received the accolade comprising a money prize of ₹1 lakh and quotation.
Mr. Sasi began climbing coconut timber on the age of 20 with a machete tucked to his again and utilizing two small loops of rope — one round his ft gripping the entrance of the tree and the opposite he carries to carry on to the trunk. The sexagenarian nonetheless practices the standard methodology of coconut plucking and scales the dizzy heights of the timber with relative ease, which helped him win the laurel. “I am always happy that I chose coconut plucking as my career. It helped me build a house and educate my two children. The award is a cherry on the cake,” he says.
From 20 paise to ₹50
According to him, lots has modified prior to now 40 years with regard to wages and harvesting of coconuts. “When I embarked on a career in coconut plucking, I would get 20 paise a tree. Nowadays I receive ₹50 a tree. Introduction of coconut tree climbing machines was a game-changer. Traditional climbers and methods will soon become a thing of the past,” he says.
Mr. Sasi climbs round 30 timber every day and fetches ₹1,500. He says that regardless of the nice pay, the educated youthful technology, together with his personal kids, will not be eager on contemplating it a profession. “An award like this will help change the perspective of society towards jobs like tree climbing and attract youngsters to the profession,” he provides.
15 in award glory
In a first-of-its-kind initiative within the nation, a complete of 15 labourers from the personal sector got the ‘Thozhilali Sreshta’ award by the federal government primarily based on their abilities. The winners have been chosen from numerous sectors, together with safety guard, headload employee, development employee, toddy tapper, housemaid, salesman/girl and so forth.
