Despite being differently-abled rides a rickshaw.

Raju Bajpai was born in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh in a laborer’s family, in his childhood, he would take his cattle for grazing, during which he got under the wrong influence and started using drugs for recreational purposes. As he aged his family decided to get him married, however, his addiction started increasing and he was unable to stay sober due to which there was a family discord and his wife left him for some other person. He was unable to endure all this mental trauma and in order to cope with chronic stress, he started consuming more substances. Then he decided to come to Lucknow in search of work and started working here as a daily wage earner and rickshaw driver, and once when he was in his village he got a paralysis attack and it became very difficult for him to even fulfill his basic bodily necessities.  After prolonged medical care, his paralysis got cured and he resumed rickshaw driving. While driving the rickshaw, he met with an accident and says “कार ने जोरदार टक्कर मार दी जिससे मै एक पैर से विकलांग हो गया तथा काम करने मे असमर्थ हो गया था जिससे दो साल तक भीख मांगकर जीवन गुजारा, जब भी मांगता था तो 200-250 रुपये प्रतिदिन मिल जाते थे” | He met Sharad Patel in 2016 when he used to beg near Parivartan Chowk and received medical care for his illness and through street counseling, he was convinced he was persuaded to join the rehabilitation program. Once he was enrolled at a rehabilitation center he received the fulfillment of his basic amenities. And through regular participation in chaupal activities (chaupal is conducted every night at a center in which a particular activity is conducted which is aimed for increasing their socialization, building social skills, personality development, etc.) he showed immense improvement and gave up begging completely. He now says: “भीख मांगना छोड़ दिया हैं अब फिर पैडल रिक्शा चला रहा हूँ और प्रतिदिन 250-300 रुपये बचा लेता हूँ, लेकिन अब सुकून हैं”