India: Women sanitation workers, earning USD 3 per day, win USD 1.2 million lottery

Eleven women sanitation workers from the southern Indian state of Kerala, who earn about 250 rupees each day (USD 3) by segregating non-biodegradable garbage from degradable, have won a lottery prize of USD 1.2 million (100 million rupees). The women, facing acute poverty for all these years, had pooled money to buy the winning ticket that cost them Rs 250 (USD 3). They will share the prize money among them.

All of them are from the Parappanangadi town in Malappuram district of Kerala. They collect non-biodegradable waste from households. The pay is meagre, hardly enough to meet basic necessities, forget being sufficient for expenses like children's education, medical treatments, weddings etc.

The women occasionally pooled money to buy a lottery ticket.

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"Once, we won a 1,000-rupee prize and shared it," says MP Radha as quoted by the BBC. Radha usually buys the tickets for the group.

Last month, the group decided to buy a monsoon bumper prize lottery ticket.

So abject was the poverty faced by the women that when Kuttimallu (72) heard that the group was planning to buy the ticket, she was sad because she didn't have money to contribute to the ticket.

"Then Cherumannil Baby (another member of the group) told me she had 25 rupees (0.3 USD) and was willing to lend me half of it for the ticket," she said.

"We agreed we would get an equal share if we won anything," Ms Kuttimalu says. "We didn't expect to win such a huge amount of money!"

Kuttimallu was quoted by BBC.

Households of these women, living under the poverty line for all these years, were beset with problems that arose from lack of finances.

K Bindu (50) reportedly lost her husband last year to kidney failure. At the time, the family was not able to arrange money for a kidney transplant. Now, with considerable prize money coming her way, she dreams of completing the construction of her house. She also plans to keep money aside for her daughter's education.

BBC reported that just the night before their lottery win, Lakshmi (49) and her family were worried about their future. Her husband, who is a construction worker, struggled to get work because of heavy rains in the state. The couple is now relieved to have more than sufficient funds to support them and provide for their kids.

Leela (56) was reportedly worried about her daughter's surgery.

"I had already borrowed money for her wedding by taking a loan against my house," she said, as per BBC.