Salary pending, school staff set to sell kidney
SMITA DUTTA
Ambika Prasad. Picture by Srinivas
Musabani, June 5: Hard times call for desperate measures. After not getting his salary for five years, an HCL-run school doorkeeper is planning to sell his kidney for Rs 10 lakh.
Ambika Prasad, after working for 22 years in the HCL-run Indian Copper Complex (ICC) High School, Musabani, came to Jadugoda to sell his kidney for Rs 2.5 lakh. But he dropped the idea after his wife discouraged him.
Nevertheless, when a Jamshedpur-based industrialist offered him Rs 10 lakh ($24,654.83 US) for his kidney, Prasad found the deal too lucrative to resist.
“I came to know about this industrialist’s offer through an advertisement in a local daily,” said Prasad.
“I don’t want to lose the opportunity to earn Rs 10 lakh because I have a family of five to look after. Both my children are meritorious students and I want to further their education. I am also in debt,” said Prasad.
His daughter passed intermediate examination in the first division and wants to study computer science.
Despite his enthusiasm about getting Rs 10 lakh, Prasad is in two minds about whether to inform the district administration about his move to sell his kidney or not.
Prasad had been working as a doorkeeper since 1986. In 2002, school authorities suddenly stopped the salary of all its 26 employees, including teachers.
The salaries of all 102 teaching and non-teaching staff of the six schools run by HCL in the area are pending.
Like other employees, who have started doing odd jobs for survival, Prasad works as a daily labourer after school hours.
“I can’t leave the school without getting my outstanding dues,” said Prasad, who was barely able to meet both ends.
Prasad alleged that his requests made to the school management to clear his dues, fell on deaf ears.
As schoolteachers have moved the court, an HCL officer told The Telegraph that nothing can be done till the court gives verdict on the issue.
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