NATION | Monday, February 8, 2010 | Email | Print | 
Bihar’s young entrepreneur has litti-chokha to offer to Obama
Amarnath Tewary | Patna
Bihar’s very own delicacy, litti-chokha, is all set to find a place on the platter of the world’s most power president.
In April, Irfan Alam would present Barack Obama with Bihari dishes. The US President has invited Alam to the Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington. US ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer had recently come to Bihar to hand over Obama’s invitation personally.
A few years ago, the young entrepreneur founded Samman Foundation, to work for the socio-economic uplift of poor rickshaw pullers. He devised a rickshaw which could shelve newspapers, mineral water bottles, a first-aid kit and other such small items for the passengers, if they needed them.
Samman Foundation rickshaws are lighter in weight and easy to pull. “These rickshaws also carry advertisements and the pullers get 50 per cent of the advertisement revenue. Besides, we also get bank finances and insurance cover for them to purchase the rickshaws,” said the enterprising Alam.
Patna’s Samman Foundation rickshaws are painted red and are easily distinguishable.
Now, delighted with the invitation from none other than the US President, Alam said he would carry a tin of freshly baked litti and dry chokha in a large box to present to Obama.
“Besides, I’d also take a miniature rickshaw of Samman Foundation to present it to the US President at the summit on April 26-27,” he said, adding that he had already conveyed his decision on the gift to the visiting US envoy in Patna.
Alam had gifted a model of his rickshaw to the US envoy too, which the latter assured him he would put on display at the US Embassy in Delhi. Roemer had even pulled one of ALam’s rickshaws carrying his wife Shelly on Patna’s streets during his visit.
Alam would be one among 79 others at the Washington Entrepreneur Summit to be attended by Obama.
Before joining the prestigious IIM-Ahmedabad, Alam attended college in Bihar’s Begusarai district, where he belongs. The young entrepreneur had started with just 100 rickshaws in the 2007 but today, he claims over 3 lakh rickshaw pullers across the country are registered with Samman Foundation.
“There are around 10 million rickshaw pullers in the country and most of them are illiterate, earning meagre money after their hard labour. We, at Samman, are working to provide them more than their actual income through ads and other facilities,” said Alam.
He added that the Madhya Pradesh Government had even made special provisions to implement the rickshaw project in the State.
As Roemer, who was visibly impressed with rickshaw’s design, said, “Irfan’s entrepreneurship has created opportunities for others and that’s why he has grabbed our attention.”
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