23-year-old Ramanjaneya – an engineering student who passed out with a degree, is now working as a daily wage laborer in his native village Tanapura in Karnataka’s Koppala district under the MGNREGA scheme.
Ramanjaneya completed BE (Mechanical) from JSS Academy of Technical Education, Bangalore in 2020. Being a bright student, he had secured a government quota seat in the prestigious college and passed with a distinction score (75%). While entering the engineering college, he dreamed of a comfortable life for his family. But, even after a year of completing the course, he did not get a job.
A distraught Ramanjaneya says, “I had no one else. I was very confident of getting a campus placement because my score was good. I have taken education loan to study. But Covid hit and no company came to our campus. I stayed in Bengaluru for another month and submitted my resume to various companies. But, no one was hiring. There was no point in me staying back. So I returned to my village instead” he says .
His father also works as a daily wage labourer. Ramanjaneya’s mother is ill and hence stays at home. She has a younger brother who is pursuing paramedical studies and two sisters who are in high school.
“It is not easy at home. The NREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of work and the payment is credited to our bank accounts. I took it so that my family can have food security.”
This bright man also works as a farm laborer in others’ fields outside NREGA to earn some extra bucks. He has saved some of his earnings and is preparing for competitive exams. “If not IAS or KAS, I want to try for FDA and such positions. There is no point in crying and wasting time” he says confidently.
He scored 86 per cent in the second PUC (Class 12th) and chose mechanical engineering for a reason. There are some industries near his village. Kalyani Steels and Kirloskar have major plants at Koppala. After completing his engineering studies, he thought of working there and living with his family. But fate has other plans.
Ramanjaneya earns Rs 289 per day under the NREGA scheme. The bank from which he has taken the education loan has said that he can start paying the EMI after two years. This has brought them some relief and they are confident of getting some white-collar jobs by then.
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