Rahul's poster woman Kalawati gets Rs 30 lakhs from Sulabh

Kalawati Bandurkar, the widow of a farmer of Vidharbha region brought to limelight by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to her shanty, today received Rs 30 lakh from Sulabh International, a sanitation NGO.

Kalawati Bandurkar, the widow of a farmer of Vidharbha region brought to limelight by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to her shanty, today received Rs 30 lakh from Sulabh International, a sanitation NGO.

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The amount has been kept in fixed deposit in her name in the Maragaon branch of the Central Bank of India, against which she will get a monthly interest of Rs 25,000 to meet education expenses of her four children and help them lead a comfortable life, Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak said.

Similarly, Rs 20 lakhs has been given to Sashikala, another woman in Yavatmal district of Vidharbha region whose name was also taken by Gandhi during a debate in the Lok Sabha in 2008 to highlight the plight of farmers groaning under the burden of loans, he said. She will get a monthly interest of Rs 15,000.

"Money cannot buy her happiness, money cannot bring her husband back. But it can certainly ensure that Kalawati and her children never ever have to go to bed empty-stomach," Pathak said.

The Sulabh International adopted Kalawati and her family after she threatened to commit suicide about two years ago, unable to make both ends meet and with seven daughters and two sons she was on the verge of starvation.