Pune's Unsung Hero: SWaCH Worker Anju Mane Wins Hearts By Returning Bag With Rs 10 Lakh

Pune: As usual, on November 20, Anju Mane, a waste picker of SWaCH, was working from 7 am in the Sadashiv Peth area. While bringing the collected garbage to the feeder point, she saw a bag lying on the side of the road between 8 and 9 am.

Mane had experienced receiving similar bags of medicine before, so she kept the bag safe at the feeder point. But after opening the bag, she realised that there was cash in it along with the medicines. Having worked in this area for almost 20 years, she knows all the citizens of the area.

Upon which Mane tried to contact everyone in the area with the help of residents she knew. Meanwhile, she saw a person looking for something very restlessly. They called them, tried to calm him down by giving him water first, and confirmed that the bag found was his and returned the bag as it was, worth Rs 10 lakh.

The citizen also appreciated Anju Tai's honesty by giving her a saree and some cash, and felicitated her along with all the residents of the area. Anju Mane once again proved that the bond of trust between the garbage collector and the citizen has become stronger in the last 20 years due to the clean model.

It is because of this honesty that the waste pickers have made a home in the hearts of the residents while providing door-to-door garbage collection service for 20 years every day. This honesty is also consistently seen in the daily door-to-door garbage collection service, which provides 4000 'clean' garbage collectors to 40 lakh Punekars.