Bridal bliss for rescued kiln worker

RANCHI: Once a child labourer at a brick kiln in West Bengal, Sheela Kumari (22) is now a happily married woman. Sheela, an orphan girl and resident of a village in Budhmu, was trafficked to West Bengal when she was eight by one of the villagers and was made to work in a brick kiln.
She was rescued in 2008 by Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and since then she has been living in Kishori Niketan, a home for distressed girls managed by BKS.
Sanjay Mishra of BKS said, "The girl has been living in Kishori Niketan since the rescue operation was successful and has passed matriculation, learnt stitching and embroidery which can help her earn a living. As she is an orphan, we decided to get her married and so started searching for a groom for her."
Once the search for groom started, BKS team came across Jugesh Munda, a worker of Tupudana-based deep boring company, who was ready to marry Sheela. After learning about Munda's family, BKS decided arrange the marriage.
The wedding ceremony was held on May 1 at Kamde temple in Ranchi.
As Sheela is an orphan, additional finance commissioner Aradhna Patnaik and her husband K K Soan - who is additional chief election commissioner of Jharkhand - performed all the rituals Sheela's parents would have done.
Sheela said, "I never thought that after all the trauma I went through I will get a chance to marry in such a grand way. I am really happy that BKS helped me find a wonderful husband like Jugesh."
Mishra said Sheela wishes to continue her studies and BKS will take the initiative to get her enrolled into a course. He said, "Sheela wanted to continue her studies and her in-laws agreed to it. Now it is our responsibility to get her admitted to a college."