PM Narendra Modi praises Cuttack tea seller for educating slum kids

BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today showered praises on D Prakash Rao, a tea seller from Cuttack, for his noble deed of educating poor slum kids of his locality. Modi narrated Rao's story while addressing the nation during his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat'.
"Rao has been a tea vendor in Cuttack for the past five decades. You will be surprised to know that the lives of more than 70 children are being illuminated through education due to his efforts.He has opened a school named 'Asha Ashvaasan', spending 50 per cent of his income for children living in slums and hutments. He ensures education, health and meals for all the children coming to this school," said Modi who met Rao during his Cuttack visit on Saturday.
He congratulated Rao for his hard work, his persistence and for providing a new direction to the lives of those poor children attending his school. "He has banished the darkness from their lives. His life is an inspiration to us, our society and the whole country," said the prime minister.
Rao along with his kids had met Modi a few minutes before the public meeting began in Cuttack.
Rao, while talking to TOI, expressed his happiness over his date with the PM and the latter's words of appreciation in radio. "I could not believe when an officer from the Prime Minister's office requested me to give time for a meeting with the PM. My happiness knew no bounds when I finally met Modi at 4.45pm on Saturday. He spent 18 minutes before he entered into the dais of the public meeting. Today, I am honoured when he told my story to the entire nation for 2.36 minutes," he added.
Sixty-year-old Rao has been selling tea at Buxi Bazaar since his childhood. He is staying at a slum with his wife and two daughters. "My father was a World War II veteran. After the war ended, he returned to Cuttack and started a tea stall to eke out a living. Due to financial problem, I also joined my father and started helping him. In the process, I could not complete my matriculation," he added. Rao manages to earn Rs 18.000 to Rs 20,000 by selling tea.
"As I could not complete my education and spent my life in a tea stall, I decided to start providing education by opening a school at my house in 2000. Later children of nearby slums such as Patapol, Pension Lane and Sutahaat joined my school. We have 75 children in the age group of four to nine years," he added.
Rao also provides meals (rice and dalma) to the kids. He normally brings the kids of daily-wager and prepares them for better schools. "I normally teach foundation courses to the kids before they join at any government schools. They find it easy to grasp the courses in their schools," he added.
The crusader of education is also a regular blood donor. He has donated blood for 214 times and platelet for 17 times. "When I was 17, my body got paralysed due to a disease. An unknown person donated blood and saved my life. Then I decided to donate blood," he added.
The school dropout speaks eight languages- Odia, English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali. " Telugu is my mother tongue. English I learnt from school. Our slum has people speaking the other languages from whom I learnt," he said.
"I have pledged to donate my body to anatomy department of the SCB medical college hospital 30 years ago. My body will not be buried after my death," he added.