An IAS Aspirant, This Homeless Indore Girl Gets A Flat For Passing Class 10 With 68%

Bharti Khandekar, a pavement-dweller teenager from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city, has been gifted a one-BHK apartment by the city’s civic body Indore Municipal Corporation as a token of appreciation for scoring 68 percent in her class 10 board examinations.

She along with her daily wage laborer parents and two brothers used to put up in a shelter on the front side of the roadway in Indore’s Shivaji Market area before it was destroyed in an encroachment drive. Bharti aspires to become an IAS officer after completion of further studies.

“I secured 68 percent in Class X. The credit of my success goes to my parents who worked hard to send me to school. I am happy. I want to become an IAS officer. We were born on the footpath and studied there. We didn’t have a house to live in, we were staying on the footpath. I would like to thank the administration for gifting me this house and making my further education free,” said Bharti expressing gratitude towards her parents, teachers, and the administration.

“A girl from Indore who was living on footpath secured first division. Commissioner took cognizance and gifted the girl a 1 BHK flat. Commission also made arrangements so that the girl gets further education free of cost. Table, chair, books, clothes were also provided to her,” Prashant Dighe of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Indore told NDTV.

Followed by instructions from the Indore Municipal commissioner Pratibha Pal, an official broke the good news to the family. Though it was extremely difficult for her father Dasharath Khandekar to make the ends meet, he ensured his children’s education despite battling odds.

“My wife and I are daily wage laborers. In the morning I go to work and my wife works as a sweeper in a school. Bharti manages her younger brothers. Then she studies till 1 o’clock at night, both of them wake up turn by turn to guard Bharti,” said her father while explaining her struggle to pull off the feat.

“I am happy that my daughter passed the Class X examination and got us a house. Earlier, we were living on the footpath. For us, my daughter is like Goddess Laxmi. My husband and I, both are illiterate. But our children are studying in government schools. I get Rs 2,000 per month. My daughter studied very hard,” added her proud mother, Laxmi Khandekar.

Meanwhile, the story of her success brought her plenty of plaudits on social media from the netizens. While some of them lauded her for shining through the difficult times, some appreciated the administration for the gesture of encouragement.

“From the pavement of Shivaji Market in Indore, Bharti Khandekar and her family will move to a flat gifted by @comindore. Bharti scored 68% in class 10th, her father Dashrath Khandekar works as a daily wage laborer,” journalist Anurag Dwary took to Twitter while sharing Bharti’s video with the world.

Bharti’s commendable and hard-earned academic success is not merely about her score but a combination of her determination and perseverance to fight the odds of life. At the same time, such humanitarian gestures on the part of the administration deserve accolades.

Many like Bharti around us struggle to achieve their dreams due to socio-economic impediments on a daily basis. Extending support to them may help them earn a brighter future.