Dubai: A driver from India in Dubai who won Dh20 million in the Big Ticket draw on Monday is looking forward to helping his family here and back home.
Renjith Somarajan will be left with Dh2 million after the jackpot is divided equally among the 10 people (including Somarajan) who pooled in to buy the Dh500 ticket, which carries his name.
Somarajan worked for eight years as a taxi driver after moving to Dubai in 2008 from his hometown of Kollam, in India’s Kerala state. He then worked as a “delivery salesman”, driving a van at times. He recently found another job as a “PRO driver” offering him Dh3,500 a month.
Somarajan, 38, told Gulf News he will take up the new job.
Helping family
“I will continue working. I and my family still deciding exactly what to do with the cash prize, but I will definitely help my family,” he said. Somarajan, who used to earn around Dh5,000 as a taxi driver, said the prize money will help him support his eight-year-son Niranjan and his wife, who are with him here, as well as his sisters back home.
Surprise call
He was not expecting to win Saturday night’s jackpot – then the Big Ticket host called him. Somarajan pulled over as he had been driving, coming home after a family trip to Hatta Dam. What followed was a flurry of thanks and congratulatory calls from friends.
Better days
Somarajan was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout, going through a phase where he didn’t earn a salary. “I still can’t believe it. It feels so good to get this after a difficult time we went through.”
