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Children live cursed life as parents separate

Akshaya Kumar Sahoo

She is too weak to do the job she is presently engaged in, but she has no option other than working in the paddy field from dawn to dusk for the sake of her four grand children and ailing 65-year-old husband Banamali Munda.

Sumi Munda, 56, a resident of Putulia village under Swam Patna block in Orissa's Keonjhar district, says she has to live a few more years to feed Gura (8), Jatuni (6), Bulu (4) and Bital (2), until they grow up and become able to sustain themselves. Peta Munda, the mother of the children, left home eight months ago to marry another person. This is one of several such cases of married women leaving their children and husbands to go for the second marriage in the tribal-dominated Keonjhar district.

Every year, many such incidents are reported from the district. In some cases, the deserted men also remarry and resettle completely at another place, leaving the children in despondency.

In absence of their parents, the children are looked after by their grand parents. Since the girls in this part of the state marry at an early age, by the time they reach 50, their husbands are normally above 65-70, unable to contribute to the family's income because of their frail health.

In Sumi's case, her son Burunda Munda is still very much with the family. But his ill health does not permit him to work fulltime and he earns not more than Rs 20 a day by working as an agricultural labourer. The total income of the family - Rs 40 a day - is hardly enough for two square meals a day for all the members. The low tribal literacy (28.11 per cent) and lack of awareness are said to be the main causes that have stood in the way of overcoming this immoral practice. How can this practice be stopped? "We have been organising counselling camps at villages against this social evil. The response is very good so far. People are now seen shying away from this practice," says Urmila Mahanta, a volunteer of non-governmental organsiation, People's Cultural Centre (PECUC). Urmila herself is a victim of such parental separation. Her mother Gita Mahanta left when she was just 5. A few months later, her father went mad and subsequently died. She was looked after by her uncle Maheswar Mahanta.

The state government has not yet identified the total number of parental separation cases. "The government should take steps to collect statistics of parental separations and announce special rehabilitation packages for their children," said PECUC chief Ranjan Mohanty.