Skill, experience and determination can create meaningful pathways to entrepreneurship. With timely access to financial assistance and mechanised equipment, sanitation professionals can translate their expertise into sustainable livelihoods while securing a better future for their families.

Shri Dharmendra Kumar Ray, a 39-year-old sanitation professional from Bihar, has built his journey through practical learning, sustained effort and a clear aspiration to become self-employed.

Having studied up to the sixth standard, he developed specialised experience in sewer and septic tank cleaning operations and used the support available under the NAMASTE Scheme to establish his own mechanised sanitation service.

To strengthen his technical capabilities, Shri Ray worked for nearly four years as a Helper and Graver Machine Operator with Shiva and Shiva Company in Noida. During this period, he acquired practical knowledge of operating and maintaining sewer-cleaning machinery and gained valuable experience in sanitation services.

His experience encouraged him to pursue self-employment and create a more secure livelihood for his family. However, the cost of procuring specialised machinery and a suitable vehicle remained a major constraint in turning this aspiration into an enterprise.

Under the Swachhta Udyami Yojana component of the NAMASTE Scheme, Shri Ray received financial assistance in the form of an upfront capital subsidy for purchasing a Jetting Cum Graver Machine along with a Mahindra Maxx City CBC 1.3 LX vehicle. The total project cost was Rs. 14,77,500, comprising a loan of Rs. 7,38,750 and a capital subsidy of Rs. 7,38,750.

With this assistance, he established his own mechanised sanitation service. The machine has been deployed under the Greater Noida Authority for sewer and septic tank cleaning operations, enabling him to use his technical skills as a self-reliant entrepreneur and secure sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Following the scheme intervention, Shri Ray's monthly income increased by approximately Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 through independent sanitation work. The improvement in his financial position enabled him to bring his wife and two children from Bihar to Noida so that the family could live together.

He has also enrolled his children in a good school in Noida, ensuring access to better education and opportunities for a brighter future. The support has strengthened the family's economic security and contributed to a more stable and dignified quality of life.

From an experienced sanitation professional to a self-reliant entrepreneur, Shri Dharmendra Kumar Ray's journey reflects the transformative impact of the NAMASTE-SUY initiative. His success demonstrates how practical skills, determination and institutional support can combine to create sustainable livelihoods, strengthen families and advance mechanised sanitation services.

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SS-70-TAR-KV-GA-RK

Date: 9.9.26

(रिलीज़ आईडी: 2308428) आगंतुक पटल : 193