Gujarat fruit seller recovers Rs 60,000 accidentally dumped in garbage

Rajkot fruit seller, Altaf Kadri, recovered Rs 60,000 in cash that had accidentally been dumped into a garbage van, just moments before the waste was to be compacted, municipal officials to TOI.

Kadri, a resident of Rajivnagar in Bajrangwadi (Ward No. 2), had collected the amount to make a payment and placed it in a small plastic bag on his table before stepping out for namaz. During his absence, his elderly aunt, unaware of the bag’s contents, threw it into a dustbin. The bin was later emptied into a garbage collection van that services the entire ward.

“I got home and couldn’t find the bag. After inquiring, I realised what had happened. I rushed to the RMC’s ward office in Bajrangwadi and explained the situation. They connected me to the work supervisor,” Kadri told TOI.


According to RMC environmental engineer Prajesh Solanki, the supervisor quickly identified the vehicle that had collected garbage from Kadri’s home and instructed the driver not to unload the waste into the compactor at the Raiya transfer station. Instead, the garbage was unloaded separately to search for the cash.

Waste from Jamnagar Road and Raiya Road areas is typically compacted at the Raiya transfer station before being transported to the Nakrawadi dumpsite, officials said.

Kadri reached the transfer station and, with assistance from the van driver and helper — Sukhram Vasuniya and Dhiru Vaniya — managed to recover the cash after nearly two hours of sifting through the waste.

“I’m thankful to God. I’m a small man — losing that much money would have been devastating,” Kadri said.

Municipal commissioner Tushar Sumera later felicitated Vasuniya and Vaniya for their honesty and swift action.

(With inputs from TOI)