Latabai is not entitled to even a day off in a week. She works every single day. In case she falls sick and takes leave, the contract company she works for charges her a penalty of Rs. 500 a day.
And Latabai is Latur city's award-winning waste picker.
“I am the only woman driver in Latur city. In 2011, I received the Latur Bhushan Award from our MLA Amit Deshmukh at the Latur Festival, for keeping the residential areas allocated to me clean,” she told PARI.
“Officials from the Municipal Corporation checked my zone, and they couldn’t find any dry or wet garbage. I was overwhelmed to receive the award in front of a large gathering and amongst the ministers and celebrities. I thought my struggle would then get recognised – little did I think then that this was just for a day,” she adds.
Latabai Rasal, 40, from Latur city of Maharashtra says, “I have been collecting trash in Latur since 2002”. That was the year her husband passed away. She was married seven years before when she was merely 15. Looking for a source of livelihood she took up waste picking to sustain herself and her five children.
















