Forty-year-old Raju Patel decided to go digital after many declined to pay alms on the pretext of not having enough cash or cash in smaller denomination
Forty-year-old Raju Patel, who has been begging since childhood and sleeps at Bihar’s Bettiah Railway Station. ANI
With the world heading towards a digital economy, most of our transactions and businesses have shifted online. Cashless payment gained further currency following the outbreak of the pandemic, which necessitated social distancing.
Forty-year-old Raju Patel, who asks begs at Bihar’s Bettiah Railway Station, seems to have embraced this growing change by now accepting alms online.
The man has a QR code hanging around his neck that gives people the option to pay their alms online. Patel also has a digital tablet, which he carries along with him to accept the online payments.
As reported by news agency ANI, the man used to attend programmes of the former chief minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and called himself his follower. But Patel is now inspired by the current prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his Digital India campaign. He never fails to listen to Modi’s radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’.
Speaking to ANI, Patel said that he has been begging at the Bettiah Railway Station since childhood and decided to change his way of begging in the digital age. “I accept digital payments, and it’s enough to get the work done and fill my stomach”, said Patel.
The 40-year-old further added that he could not find any other livelihood and sleeps at the station as well. His decision to go digital came after many people refused to give him alms by saying that they did not have cash in smaller denominations.
But in order to go cashless, the man had to open a bank account and also an e-wallet. Furthermore, to open a bank account, Patel acquired Aadhaar and PAN cards. The digital beggar now has a bank account in the main branch of State Bank of India in the city of Bettiah.
Soon after ANI’s tweet grabbed attention on social media, netizens’ comments and opinions poured in. An internet user wrote, “Digital India scheme has reached to grass root level” (sic), whereas another commented, “Power of digitization and sign of things to come”.
Take a look at some more tweets here:
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