Bihar Polls 2020: No Money for Fodder, Women Walk 20 km

After the lockdown and floods destroyed their livelihood, women walk 20 km to cut grass for their livestock.

Bihar Polls 2020: No Money for Fodder, Women Walk 20 kms for Grass

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Vivek Gupta

Along the road that connects Bihar’s Patna and Muzaffarpur, one can lately find groups of women cutting grass.

Why?

Because they do not have enough money to buy fodder for their cattle; in fact, they are struggling to feed their children, let alone the livestock.

The COVID-induced lockdown has disrupted their lives, restricting the working and eligible members of their families to their homes, depleting their sources of income, and putting these women on the streets foraging for fodder.

“I have four sons, a husband, three daughters-in-law and two grandchildren in my family. They are all unemployed, sitting idle at home. They are old enough to go into the town to find work, but they are jobless due to the lockdown.”

Jalsi Devi, a labourer

However, they have received help from the government in the form of monthly aids and quotas.

“I got Rs 500 twice in my account and Rs. 6,000 once. I got monetary grants as well as quotas every month.”

Manju Devi, a labourer

Just when the aid would have been enough to tide them over through these difficult times, the floods hit Muzaffarpur and destroyed most of what was left.

“Nobody came here to meet us. No leader came to our village to give us relief packages or food.”

Manju Devi, a labourer