At a non-descript roadside stall in Ranchi Deepak Kumar Uprariya, a technician for HEC (Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited) who worked on the construction of ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 launchpad, he is selling idlis. According to the BBC, Uprariya owns a store in Ranchi’s Dhurwa neighbourhood directly across from the Old Legislative Assembly. After HEC, a Government of India Company (CPSU) that produced the folding platform and sliding door for Chandrayaan-3, failed to pay his wages for 18 months, he launched his roadside kiosk.

India became the first nation to accomplish this accomplishment when Chandrayaan-3 achieved a soft landing on the Moon’s South Pole in August. Then-Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his congratulations to the ISRO researchers and even spoke to the Chandryaan mission’s launchpad employees. Employees of the HEC in Ranchi were, however, protesting their 18-month salary arrears in the background.

Deepak Kumar Uprariya explained that he started selling idlis for the past few days in order to ensure his family does not starve. He has been coordinating the work of his shop and office. The technician works in the office in the afternoon after selling idlis in the morning. He sells idlis once more in the evening before returning home.

Mr. Uprariya explained his predicament by saying, “At first, I used a credit card to manage my home. I received a 2 lakh rupee loan. Then I received a defaulter’s notice and then began running the home by stealing money from family members.”

“I have so far borrowed four lakh rupees. People are no longer lending to me because I haven’t paid anyone back. Then I operated from my house for a few days while mortgaging my wife’s jewellery,” he continued.

The technician also said that he began selling idlis after feeling as though his “time of starvation” had arrived. My wife is a skilled idli maker. I sell them for 300 to 400 rupees each day. I gain between 50 and 100 rupees. I’m using this money to manage my residence, he informed the publication.

Mr. Upraria is a native of Madhya Pradesh’s Harda district, as per the BBC report. He left his position with a private company in 2012 and began working for HEC at a $8,000 salary. He had anticipated a bright future, but things did not work out as he had thought.

“I have two daughters. Both attend school. I still haven’t been able to cover their tuition for this year. The school sends notices every day. Teachers even ask students who have parents who work for HEC to stand up,” he claimed.