They came for children's edu, but now struggle for food

A family of Sudugadu Siddara community, who migrated to Mangaluru with the objective of getting their children educated in best schools, is now caught in the lockdown and is struggling to find a square meal everyday.

Sudugadu Siddara Govindappa Mahanta and Akkamma couple from Kanakapura in Haveri had come to Mangaluru to lead a decent life by working as daily wage labourers and also to ensure quality education to their children. The family living in a makeshift tent near Padil in Mangaluru had enrolled their children Ganesh (second year BA), Jambanna (first year BCom), Mareyakka (class 9), Gauri (class 8) ,Gangamma (class 6) and Durugesh (class 5) in different schools and colleges.

“In our native village we had to engage in our family profession or work in fields to harvest cotton and chilly. We are paid meagre wages of Rs 10 or Rs 20. We had to stay outside the village. To ensure that our children purse their education, we migrated to Mangaluru. We were eking out a living by working as daily wage labourers. During our stay, we had not faced any hardships so far. But due to the lockdown our own survival is at stake,'' said Akkamma with tears in her eyes.

Besides Govindappa, there are also other families residing in the makeshift huts.

“We engage in our family profession of playing harmonium and singing during temple fairs and Navarathri celebrations in order to earn our bread. We get water from neighbouring house,'' Govindappa said.

"We prepared food with the available grains during the first few days of the lockdown. Later, we did not have even rice and could not go out to purchase. After spending a few days in hunger, we approached police on night patrol duty and sought their assistance," Akkamma said.

"One of the woman police contacted a donor and we received rice. Now a days donors come and give us food in the noon and evening," Akkamma said and added that they wait till noon for the food to arrive. Now, the family is worried on how to fund the dreams of school and college-going children after the lockdown would be lifted.