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10-08-2023
Bureau Report + Agencies
NEW DELHI/ PARAPPANANGADI: M Radha, a sanitation worker in the southern state of Kerala, says when she checked her mobile phone on July 27, she could not believe her eyes; she had won the 100 million rupees ($1.2m) lottery jackpot.
The 49-year-old had pooled money along with 10 other colleagues to buy the 250 rupees ($3) monsoon bumper lottery ticket in June.
“I screamed loudly and hugged my colleagues who stood in disbelief,” an overjoyed Radha told media at her workplace in Parappanangadi municipality in Malappuram district.
“It is the best thing that has happened to our lives. We had purchased many lottery tickets before but our time has come only now,” she said.
The group of 11 women work to segregate non-biodegradable waste at the Material Collection Facility in Parappanangadi municipality.
The women said they struggle to make ends meet with their current daily wage of about 400 rupees ($5). Many of them are in debt, they said.
When the ticket vendor approached them in June, they could not afford the 250 rupees ticket individually, so they decided to join forces. Radha says she persuaded her colleagues to contribute 25 rupees ($0.30) each to buy the lottery ticket but 65-year-old C Kuttimalu could not manage to raise her share but leaving out a senior member from the group was tough, hence they agreed for Kuttimalu and her 64-year-old cousin Baby to split their contribution 12.50 rupees ($0.15) each.
The joy of 11 women soon transformed into a festival of sorts in Parappanangadi, a vibrant municipality home to about 70,000 people.
Congratulatory messages poured in from friends and relatives, while social media posts talked about “Lady Luck smiling on the most deserving people on earth”.
Six members of the group are Dalits, the former untouchables and the rest hail from the unprivileged Hindu castes. Waste collection in India is seen with stigma and it mostly involves people from the unprivileged castes.
“I have been living in penury all these years. My husband’s death put my family’s burden on me. I am still working to make ends meet,” P Karthyayani told media.
“I hope this jackpot will end my misery forever,” the 74-year-old widow, who supports her family, said.
K Chandrika was bedridden for seven months after she suffered a stroke nearly a year ago. The 53-year-old survived but she incurred massive debt.
“I am in deep debt. I was clueless how to pay off my debts. I hope the jackpot will save me,” Chandrika, who joined work a few days before buying the ticket, told media. “This is a God-sent gift,” she said.
