Kerala state government’s 2023 Monsoon Bumper lottery results have brought in great tidings for eleven municipality workers in Kerala who have won a total of Rs 10 crore jackpot jointly.
All 11 are a part of Haritha Karma Sena, which provide a state Kudumbashree Mission green army tasked with collecting non-biodegradable waste from doorsteps and sorting it prior to processing.
The ticket was jointly bought by everyone for Rs 250 as they did not have enough to buy one individually. After subtracting income tax and agent commission, the money would be put into one of the winner’s accounts, from where they can split the amount as decided.
The coordinator of the 57-member Haritha Karma Sena, Sheeja Ganesh, also congratulated the ladies saying, “It’s very surprising, but I am very happy for them. These are extremely hard-working people who go to great lengths to make ends meet. Of the 11 people, three collect the waste from households while the rest are engaged in segregating and weighing the waste. They earn between ₹8000 to ₹14000 a month.”
Many of the women come from poor families and are currently in heavy debt. One of the members, Radha, who is also among the winner group, was the first one to suggest buying the lottery. The group have previously bought lottery tickets, but they only won once, an amount of Rs 1,000.
“I am still in shock. It’s unbelievable. We had to check with multiple people to make sure that we won, and still we couldn’t believe it. We all come from very poor families with lots of debt and liabilities. I myself have a debt of ₹3 lakh which I hope to clear with the amount I get from the lottery. So, it has reached us at the right time,” Radha said.
Speaking to PTI, another woman said that the group was excited about the result but had lost all hope as someone said that the winner was from another district.
“The excitement and happiness knew no bounds when we finally came to know that we hit the jackpot. All of us are facing hardships in life and the money will be a relief to some extent to solve our problems,” she said.