‘No money for her last rites’

Sanjay works as a driver with a private company, but is forced to miss work on most days as he suffers from tuberculosis. He lives wit his wife and three-year-old daughter.

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His mother used to work tirelessly to provide for them, says Sanjay. “She was the one who held the family together.

She worked as a maid in the morning and also ran a general store. I used to take breaks from work due to my health, but she worked relentlessly,” he says.

Maya’s daughter Sunita, who is married and lives in West Bengal’s Siliguri, had to travel for three days to reach Delhi, after she received the news of her mother’s untimely death. She suffers from tuberculosis as well and is undergoing treatment at a government hospital.

Till a few months ago, Sunita was not on good terms with her husband and her in-laws and used to stay with her mother. Even after she reconciled with her husband, her mother continued to provide for her and her daughter. “My mother assured me that she will take care of me,” Sunita says.

In the wake of the death of their main breadwinner, the family is now worried about how they will make ends meet.