TENKASI: An aeroplane, flying high above the sky, has always been a wonder for them. And, when they finally boarded a flight to Chennai from Madurai airport on Thursday, tears of happiness were rolling down the cheeks of these 31 woman beedi-rollers. For the last one year, they have been saving a portion of their daily earnings to realise their dream.
Ask R Santhi, one among the beedi-rollers who flew to Chennai, she would say for a villager like her, flight travel is so expensive. “Only rich people from the rural parts choose to fly. A beedi-roller like me earning just Rs 220 per day cannot even think of flying. However, thanks to woman self-help groups, my dream has come true,” she said.
An organiser of the trip, T Mercy, said the beedi-rollers who flew to Chennai belong to three different women self-help groups. “We started from Kalluthu by a van and a car early in the morning to catch the flight scheduled for 8 am. We reached Chennai around 9 am. From the Chennai airport, we travelled to Egmore by Metro rail. Not only flight, the Metro rail travel was also a new experience to all the 31 women. We enjoyed visiting the government museum, Egmore and the Marina beach in Chennai,” she said. Mercy said for years, the beedi-rollers have been depositing some money monthly to their self-help group under a savings scheme.
“The money thus deposited, which usually ranges from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7000, is paid back to them at the beginning of every year. Earlier, we organise a tour and sometimes purchase gold rings to these beedi rollers with the saved money. This time around, we planned the flight travel as it was a dream of majority of the women,” she said.
R Selvasaroja, another beedi roller, said the flight ticket alone cost them Rs 2,984. “The entire trip may cost us about Rs 6,000. We will return to Tenkasi in Pothigai Superfast Express from Chennai’s Egmore station,” she added.