Kerala sanitation workers pool money to buy lottery ticket, win Rs 10 cr

The women pooled in the money to purchase a lottery ticket a few weeks ago and won the jackpot

Eleven women municipal workers in Kerala have hit the jackpot as they won Rs 10 crore prize in the state government's 2023 Monsoon Bumper.

The 11 women are members of the Haritha Keralam Mission, an initiative for a garbage-free Kerala. Haritha Karma Sena collects non-biodegradable waste from houses and establishments to shredding units for recycling. It is part of the state's Kudumbashree Mission.

The winners, from the Parappanangadi municipality in the Malappuram district, bought the Rs 250 ticket together as they didn't have enough money to buy it individually. The winning ticket of the BR-92 lucky draw was MB200261. The lottery also offers multiple prizes of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, Rs 1 lakh, etc.

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The winning ticket was submitted at the Punjab National Bank branch in Parappanangadi, and the amount will be deposited in one of the winners' accounts after income tax and agent commission are deducted.

Radha, 49, who had suggested buying the lottery ticket and picked out the winning ticket from the agent, said, “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 Rs 3 lakh which I hope to clear with the amount I get from the lottery. So, it has reached us at the right time,” she added.

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This is the fourth time the group has purchased the bumper lottery ticket, having previously won 1000 in the Onam bumper.

Sheeja Ganesh, the coordinator of the 57-member Haritha Karma Sena, said, “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 Rs 8,000 to Rs 14,000 a month.”

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