Lockdown: Odisha’s Chharani Distributes Vegetables for Free
Due to the lockdown due to Corona virus, many people are having difficulties regarding the availability and earning of goods.
In such a situation, there are many people who are coming forward to help others. One of these people is Chhayarani Sahu, a resident of Odisha.
Chhayarani Sahu is a farmer who is going to the villages of his fields and giving them to the people for free.
The closure of the market in lockdown made it difficult for people to buy vegetables. In such a situation, he decided to help people by giving them vegetables.
Chhayarani Sahu, 56 years old, lives in the village of Kuruda in Bhadrak district.
Naki is eight acres of land on which vegetables like okra, brinjal, pumpkin, tomato, chilli, ginger and coriander are grown.
Three kg vegetable packet
She usually sells vegetables in the Vasudevpur market. Also, vegetables are also sold by taking carts from village to village.
Other people of the village also buy vegetables from this market. However, this market was closed after the lockdown.
Chhayarani Sahu’s younger son Manas Kumar Sahu says, “Our block is in the Red Zone, so there was a vegetable market closed. In many villages of this block people grow vegetables in their fields but in the villages next to it, people have There is not enough land to grow vegetables. That is why they buy vegetables from the market. “
“But, due to the lockdown, they were not able to buy vegetables. There are also families which have four to five people but they do not have ration, food and water. In such a situation, Mummy decided to send vegetables to them.”
Manas Kumar Sahu said, “We make a packet of about three kilos of vegetable and deliver it from door to door. This packet contains different types of vegetables. We leave one day and contact the panchayat in different villages To deliver vegetables to the needy. “
Farming for 30 years
Chhayarani Sahu started this work from April 4. So far, she has distributed about 20 thousand kg of vegetables in 20 to 25 villages of Bhadrak district.
Currently, his younger sons are also helping in this work. Chhayarani Sahu has two sons and two daughters. The daughters and elder son are married. Elder sons work in Surat. Younger son Manas Kumar Sahu is doing PhD outside the village.
Chhayarani has been doing farming for thirty years. From sowing, spraying of pesticides, harvesting and pruning, she herself is involved in all the work.
She and her husband only understand and speak Oriya language. In such a situation, we talked to him through his younger son who understands and speaks Hindi.
‘Age does not matter’
Regarding this initiative, Chhayarani Sahu says, “When I came in marriage, my in-laws had a lot of financial problems. So I know what it is to be helpless. Since then we have worked very hard. We have worked on every acre of or land day in and day out.
Every acre collected the land and worked on it day and night. So now I want to help those who have become helpless during this time. When I give vegetables to those people, it feels very good inside. “
Regarding doing so much work even at this age, she says, “A man is not old with age but with his mind. Work has to be done with mental strength and I am very strong mentally for my work. I feel That I can do what I am determined to do. “
Little effort
Chhayarani’s husband Sarveshwar Sahu also helps her in her farming work. Manas Kumar Sahu says that mother mostly watches the work of farming. His father sees more than agriculture. They also deliver milk to the market.
On the initiative of his wife, Sarveshwar Sahu says, “We never thought that our little effort would get so much importance. This is a big thing. Also we did not know how many families and for how long we would get vegetables, will be able to give it. I started it just fine. My wife works more than me in this and everyone is praising her. It is a matter of pride for me. “
Manas Kumar Sahu says that he earns about five to six lakhs every year from farming. At the moment, they are not selling vegetables, but still their house is running. Now the market has started opening for the last seven-eight days but it too opens for a few hours.
