Slice of Life: ‘I have to spend Rs 100 daily to commute to work'

My native is Andhra Pradesh. When I was three years old, my family moved to Chennai and settled in a slum area in Anna Nagar. I have been working as a conservancy worker for the past seven years. Three months ago, my family was moved to the slum clearance board apartment in Semmencheri. When I was in Anna Nagar, reporting to duty was easy as I could reach there from my home in a few minutes. But now, it takes more than one hour. I have to leave my residence at 4.30 am every day, so that I could catch the first bus to the city at 5 am. After work, I reach home around 8 pm. My job is to collect garbage from door-to-door.  Now, I am spending Rs 100 to commute to work every day. I stopped attending school after Class 7 due to lack of interest. Sometimes, I regret not continuing school. I cannot read or write properly. If I had completed at least Class 10, I might have had a chance of doing a security job or something else. But, my four children attend school and I am happy for them. Thankfully they are interested in education. My wife has a heart problem. So, she cannot work. I have to run the family alone but I do not consider it a burden as I love them.