Featured

India U-17 WC Captain’s Daily-Wager Parents Proud To Build Road In Daughter’s Honour

By
OB Bureau

Ranchi: When Ashtam Oraon got selected in the Indian team for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, her native village Gumla, in Jharkhand, erupted in joy.

And when she was named captain of India’s first-ever women’s team taking part in a FIFA-level tournament, they were even more proud.

To honour her achievement, the district administration decided to build a 725-metre road leading to the humble home in the nondescript village in a Maoist-infected area.

And it’s her parents who are sweating it out with other daily wage labourers to construct the cement-concrete road at a cost of Rs 51 lakh, The Times of India reported.

Heeralal Oraon (47) and Tara Devi (45) told ToI that they were “proud” to do ‘mazdoori’ for 30 days on a project to acknowledge their daughter’s feat of becoming the first footballer from the state to lead an Indian team.

The poverty-ridden parents brought up their child the hard way, and Ashtam – a Class XI student at Hazaribag’s St Columbus Collegiate School – repaid their efforts by working hard and developing into a talented footballer.

Asked why they were working even after Ashtam became captain of the Indian team, her parents revealed that they still have to feed four other children and bring them up.

“Our forefathers worked as daily wage labourers and nothing has changed for us to switch to any other activity for livelihood. We still have to feed the rest of our children. So we cannot quit working till they achieve the goals of their lives,” said Ashtam’s father Heeralal.

Two of Ashtam’s sisters also play football and one of them took part in the Subrata Cup, a national-level school tournament.

The administration provided her parents with a TV set so that they could watch the World Cup matches.

“As we were told that the family would not be able to watch their daughter playing the World Cup matches and villagers also wanted to see her in action, we provided a TV set, an inverter and a DTH connection so that they can enjoy the match,” Gumla DC Shishir Kumar said.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

INS Kuthar Visits Odisha’s Gopalpur Port To Promote Awareness On Coastal Security

Berhampur: Indian Navy ship INS Kuthar docked in Gopalpur port in Odisha's Ganjam district with…

November 24, 2024

Attack On Dharmasala MLA In Odisha: BJD, BJP Trade Charges Over Police Action

Jajpur: Ruling BJP and Opposition BJD were engaged in trading charges against each other on…

November 24, 2024

After Jaiswal-Kohli-Bumrah Heroics, Can India Beat Australia By Record Margin In 1st Test?

Perth: It was the perfect day of Test cricket for Team India. The visiting team…

November 24, 2024

Youth Beats Old Mother To Death In Odisha’s Angul

Angul: A youth allegedly beat his old mother to death following an argument over a…

November 24, 2024

Virat Kohli Thanks Anushka After Breaking Century Drought [Watch]; Check His Feats

Perth: He hadn’t scored a Test century for 16 months. His previous 15 Test knocks…

November 24, 2024

BJD’s Minority Cell Stages Protest Against Waqf Bill In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The members of BJD's minority cell staged a demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan…

November 24, 2024

System Over Bay Of Bengal To Trigger Rain In Odisha, Push Up Night Temp By 2-4°C

Bhubaneswar: Dense fog reduced visibility in Odisha's Rourkela while moderate fog engulfed Koraput, Bhawanipatna and…

November 24, 2024

IPL Auction: Rishabh Pant Sold At Record Rs 27 Cr After Shreyas Iyer Fetches Rs 26.75 Cr

Mumbai: Shreyas Iyer may be out of the Indian team currently, but the dashing right-handed…

November 24, 2024