31 TN women Beedi rollers take their first flight ever

By: WE Staff | Friday, 4 February 2022

Tears of happiness were rolling down the cheeks of these 31 woman beedi-rollers when they finally boarded a flight to Chennai from Madurai airport on Thursday. They have been saving from their daily earnings for the last one year to realise their dream.

R Santhi, one among the beedi-rollers said, “Only rich people from the rural parts choose to fly. A beedi-roller like me earning just INR220 per day cannot even think of flying. However, thanks to woman self-help groups, my dream has come true.”

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.

“The money thus deposited, which usually ranges from INR 5,000 to INR 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 INR 2,984. “The entire trip may cost us about INR 6,000. We will return to Tenkasi in Pothigai Superfast Express from Chennai’s Egmore station,” she added.