Unemployment is currently one of the major concerns in our country. It is nothing but a waste of human resource and results in many social evils such as theft, pick- pocketing, robbery, and even murder. Moreover, it is a serious economic, social and political problem with over thousands of youths migrating to cities every day in search of employment. Such migration is hampering the economic growth of India as nothing but petty jobs trickle down to them.
Hope still prevails courtesy those who take extraordinary steps to make their villages tip top class. These efforts are bringing back those who had to head to urban jungles. Currently, many farmers are becoming millionaires with their hard work and right strategies. Many of these successful farmers are not only changing their own fortunes but also altering the employment scenario of their villages.
Sabhapati Shukla is one such person with extraordinary talent, who single-handedly changed the situation of Keshavapur, Uttar Pradesh, a small village situated 55 km away from National Highway 28. He found a profitable business in sugarcane plantation and helped in the progression of the entire village.
Keshavapur was battling lack of basic needs for several decades with youngsters migrating to big cities in search of employment. Shukla had other ideas though.
In 2001, Shukla decided to part ways from his family and live alone after a heated argument. He set up a small cottage on his ancestral land and started his life afresh. He never thought of going to cities for employment. Rather, he thought of doing something substantial while staying in his village.
Shukla took a loan from the rural bank and started his own sugarcane plantation. For two years, everything was running smoothly. But, after 2003, there were heavy losses in the sugarcane business. One night, after getting extremely frustrated, he even asked his wife to set fire to their sugarcane plantation, which was a heavy burden for them at that time.
Recalling that incident, Shukla says, “My wife told me that instead of burning sugarcane, it is better to prepare vinegar from its juice and distribute among the villagers.”
This brought a revolution. The villagers liked the taste of their vinegar so much that they started demanding more and more from Shukla. He quickly understood the great business opportunity in making vinegar from sugar cane juice and grabbed the opportunity. He worked tirelessly and started making vinegar on a big scale.
Shukla ventured into vinegar business by selling one liter vinegar to one of his old clients. After that, he expanded his business and started supplying vinegar to the small, nearby shops. The good quality of his product became the key to his success. The rise in demand for his product helped him to expand his business.
Today, Shukla supplies millions of liters of vinegar to different regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Punjab, Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and other states of the country. The annual turnover of his business is over crores of rupees now.
Shukla says 200 liters of vinegar give him a profit of around Rs 2,000. After the success of vinegar, his company started making different pickles as well.
The best part of Shukla’s success is that he has provided employment to all the unemployed youth of his village through his business. The villagers who once struggled to make ends meet are now living a decent life.
Shukla now runs his factory on a 10,000 square feet-land beside National Highway 28 and also uses a piece of land behind the factory to farm. There is also a small dairy with half a dozen cows. Next, he is planning to open a restaurant on the highway in the near future.
The success of Shukla reminds us that there are several opportunities around us which we can grab and change our fortunes forever. If we work with clear goal and hardship no one in this world can stop us from achieving success.