In a desperate attempt to home, a fifteen-year-old Jyoti Kumari rode a bicycle with her father from Haryana’s Gurugram to Darbhanga in Bihar, a distance of nearly 1,200 km.
Jyoti’s father Mohan Paswan worked as an e-rickshaw driver in Gurugram but was injured in an accident in January, BBC reported.
With no work or wages during the lockdown, Paswan and his daughter were struggling to make ends meet. Even their landlord was pressuring them to pay the rent.
Paswan was initially not in favour of going back to Bihar on a bicycle, however, Jyoti managed to persuade him and the two went on an arduous journey back home.
लॉकडाउन था, सो अपने पिता को साइकिल पर बैठाकर गुरुग्राम से दरभंगा ले गई बेटी…वीडियो: मोहन भारद्वाज और सीटू तिवारी pic.twitter.com/Mc7hkmyB4O
— BBC News Hindi (@BBCHindi) May 19, 2020
‘We kept moving forward with whatever help we got on the way. Some people gave us food. We were also hungry for two days,’ Jyoti said.
She has been quarantined along with her father and is being hailed as ‘Shravan Kumari’ of Darbhanga. Upon knowing about her tale of grit and gut, Darbhanga DM Dr Tyagarajan SM sent an official to the house of Jyoti Kumari at Siruhulia and assured to provide all helps, reported The New Indian Express.
Jyoti aspires to study further and the Darbhanga district administration has assured her to help in further study. ‘At this time, these families are currently getting the benefit of some government benefits, and after this, all government facilities will be provided according to the need,’ The New Indian Express quoted the DM Tyagarajan.
Meanwhile, she has been felicitated by a local social organization namely Dr Prabhaat Foundation with a title of ‘Virangana Mithila Ke’.
Also Read: ‘Humara Kaun Hai?’: Migrant Workers Share Helplessness, Lack Of Support Amid Lockdown
