UP teens pull cart barefoot for 100km after losing pony to thief

MEERUT: The yoke of poverty forced two teenage sisters of UP to take turns to pull a horse cart 100km on their way back home from Haridwar, where they had gone in search of a sibling allegedly abducted by a sadhu.

The cart with a blanket spread over it contained a bucket, a backpack, clothes and their blind father Salmu. Their younger brother, 10-year-old Arif, accompanied them, alternating between walking alongside the sister hauling the burden and resting beside his father.

The 17-year-old Meena and sister Shakila, who is a year younger, walked barefoot.

Meena did most of the pulling and her dry mouth and chafed, bleeding soles betrayed the ordeal the family had gone through in a week on the road from Haridwar to Shamli, en route to their village Niwada in Baghpat district, which is another 30km away.

The poor family’s nightmare began in August during the ‘kanwar yatra’ — an annual Hindu pilgrimage dedicated to god Shiva. A sadhu allegedly lured Meena’s 12-year-old sister Khairuna and took her to Haridwar.

The family exhausted all its means to impress local authorities to trace the girl and then took it upon itself to launch a search.

The siblings and their father saved some money, packed their clothes, harnessed the pony to the cart and went to the holy town about a fortnight ago. They searched everywhere for Khair- una and succeeded in locating the sadhu but he escaped.

The family said it told the town’s police about the abduction but no action was taken. Meanwhile, a thief stole their pony.

Crestfallen and left with little money for a bus ride home, Meena decided to pull the cart. Shakila helped when exhaustion overwhelmed her elder sister.

It was only when they reached Shamli on Saturday that the district administration came to their rescue after learning from local media about their ordeal.