Cruelty of fate: Truck driver's widow tells a story of despair and misery
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 12 2022: Hemabati carefully opens a neatly tied white sack and takes out a photograph of her late husband.

She holds it to her chest.

Both cheeks wet with tears, Hemabati has her husband's memory still fresh.

Sanabam Ningol Kak-chingtabam Ongbi Hemabati lost her husband, Kakchingtabam Ibomcha in a road accident on November 26, 2019 .

He was a truck driver.

When Ibomcha died he left two sons.

She is now living with her sons and mother-in-law.

With Ibomcha gone, Hemabati occasionally weaves and looks for odd jobs to feed her family and send their sons to school.

Sometimes, she barely manages two meals a day.

Sanabam Hemabati hails from Nambol Kabowak-ching and she married Kakchingtabam Ibomcha of Khongman Mangjil Ma-mang Leikai, Imphal East in 2007 .

Ibomcha was a truck driver before and after their marriage.

He usually ferried goods from Dimapur and other places to Manipur.

With whatever little he earned, they were content and happy.

But, all these changed when Ibomcha's truck fell down a gorge and lost his life.

"He left us for heavenly abode on November 26, 2019.On that day, he went to ferry bricks at Jiribam.

At Nungba on the Imphal-Jiribam road, his truck fell down a steep gorge.

My husband and one other person lost their lives.

He was driving the truck," Hemabati said.

Remembering how life was when her husband was alive, she said, they were happy.

"My husband used to ferry essential goods from outside the State.

He was happy and he thought he was doing a noble job being a driver ferrying goods.

He was right.

Without them, people of Manipur will not be able to get daily essential goods," Hemabati said.

Financially, they were doing somewhat well when Ibomcha was alive, Hemabati said.

"His earnings were not enough but we could manage.

We were content.

Life is hard without him," she said.

Her husband was the breadwinner of the family.

Now with her husband gone, Hemabati weaves a little and earns some meagre amount.

She also looks for odd jobs.

She sometimes helps prepare vegetables at feasts to earn about Rs 100 to Rs 200 a day.

With whatever meagre amount she earns, she has to feed her family of four.

Her mother-in-law, Kakching-tabam Ongbi Landhoni also chips in little by working as a cook in other people's houses.

Her oldest son is now 14.He sometimes asks about his father.

He still believes his father is away on job and is waiting for his return.

To keep him happy, she also tells him his father is in Guwahati, Hemabati said.

Even though the family has been struggling hard for survival, her oldest son is enrolled in a private school.

She said, "My oldest son is attending a private school as I wanted to give him proper education.

Even though I am doing whatever I can to keep him in school, there were many instances when I couldn't pay school tuition fees and buy necessary books" .

"I never imagined even once how widows survive.

But now I know how hard and cruel life can be.

Crying is all I do when I simply don't know how to cope," lamented Hemabati.

When her husband died, the owner of the truck he was driving gave her Rs 2 lakh as compensation.

Showing sympathy and concerned with the condition of the house, the owner also promised her a house.

However, the promise for a house has not been delivered.

When she called on the phone, the owner did not answer most of the time.

They are still living in a little shed.

During rainy season when the house is flooded with water, they have no place to stay, she said.

She has lost her husband's ID card, issued by the Drivers' Union.

She has also written to the drivers' union but she has not received any reply till today.

She is also not getting any widow pension given by the Government.

However, she regularly gets Government's ration and also receives Rs 500 every month from the local MLA.

Amidst all the hardship she is facing, she is most concerned for her sons.

With none to turn to, she wished that somebody would help her sons get proper education.

"I wish and pray that somebody, kind-hearted and generous, would at least provide assistance so that my sons can go to schools and get a future," Hemabati prayed.

Looking at the picture at her hand one last time she said, "I had many sleepless nights thinking about his safety when he went to ferry goods.

I would spend days without knowing his whereabouts due to poor phone connectivity.

When he returns, he would share stories about the difficulties they faced on the roads.

Wives of all drivers ferrying goods on the highways must have similar feelings as I once had.

Their job is difficult but necessary" .

She carefully placed the photograph inside the sack and tied it tightly.

Opened the almirah and hid it in a corner.

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