Mumbai tea-seller who saved lives during 26/11 terror attack struggles to make ends meet

A chaiwala who had helped several people escape the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus is finding it difficult to make ends meet due to Covid-19 and the ensuing onslaught on the economy.

Chotu Chaiwala aka Toufiq Shaikh, a tea vendor, says that he does not have any option but to leave the city.

“I came to the city of dreams, Mumbai, when I was just a teenager. Here I grew up to be known as Chotu Chaiwala and here I saved several lives during the 26/11. Now, I am sinking in debt, my family is starving and with a heavy heart, I am about to leave the city," says the 39-year-old tea-seller.

In a bid to tide over the crisis, he had resorted to crowdfunding and has put up his request on the Ketto platform.

“Only few local trains are running and hence there are no customers. Plus, due to the fear of the disease, no one is willing to buy chai (chai) from me,” he said.

His heroic efforts were acknowledged by the government and was even promised a job with Indian Railways - he received 27 awards and Rs 70,000 in cash from various citizens groups.

With this money, he opened his first tea stall in 2009. Just a month before the lockdown, Toufiq opened a new stall and spent nearly Rs 1,00,000 to stock up wafers, water bottles, biscuits.

Since the stall was placed right next to the tea shop near CSMT, a prime location, the business was picking up before it all went downhill.

Toufiq has employed 11 people for this tea stall, of whom he helped eight return to their native towns when the lockdown norms were relaxed. He borrowed money to pay their salaries and to send home during the lockdown.