Shri Mahalaxmi Scrap & Raddi Depot

Our place is tucked away in Hingane Khurd at Kandhari Colony, right on the Second Road near the corner. It’s mostly a yard full of things people don’t want anymore, like giant stacks of old newspapers, rusted iron rods, and empty plastic bottles. We spend our mornings weighing bundles of raddi on the big iron scale that sits in the center of the yard. It’s heavy work, especially when someone brings in a load of old copper pipes or brass fittings from a house they are tearing down. The yard is dusty, and we always have to be careful where we step because of all the sharp scrap metal lying around. We keep a small office in a wooden shack at the front where we settle the payments and drink our tea while looking at the piles. The neighbors know us as the place to bring their old magazines and cardboard boxes once they start piling up too high at home. On rainy days, we have to hurry to cover everything with big blue tarps, which is a real chore when the wind is blowing. We have a few guys who help with the sorting because you have to separate the plastic from the metal before the big trucks come to take it all away. It isn’t the cleanest job in the world, but it keeps the neighborhood a bit tidier. We just stay here until the sun goes down, moving piles of junk from one side to the other.