No shoes, no kit: Jharkhand widow’s 1,600m dash for home guard’s job wins hearts

A heartwarming video clip of a widowed mother running a 1,600-metre sprint barefoot at a practice session before a recruitment drive for home guards in Jharkhand’s Ramgarg district has touched millions of viewers online.Karmali said Kavita Mahato completed the 1600-metre race in 7 minutes, ahead of the required 10-minute mark.Kavita Mahto completed the course well ahead of the official time limit, said Ajay Karmali, director of the HMT Physical Academy, Dulmi, after the video clip of the trials conducted on its premises on October 4 went viral.The trials was arranged to help applicants prepare for an upcoming home guard recruitment drive to select 284 home guards at the same grounds from October 24 to November 5.Karmali said Mahato completed the 1600-metre race in 7 minutes, ahead of the required 10-minute mark.The official said Kavita’s lost her husband to illness three years ago. Six months ago, her brother-in-law who also provided for the family died in a road accident.“She has two children under 12, an elderly mother-in-law and father-in-law. All depend on her,” he said.“She works as a house help. When we organised trial run, she completed 1600 metres in just seven minutes, although 10 minutes is given to women to complete the race conducted for Home Guard recruitment,” he said, praising her extraordinary determination.Mahato could not be reached for her comment.Karmali said the academy provided her with a proper kit on Wednesday.A government official said Kavita stood a good chance of landing the job, “50% of the seats are reserved for women. Widowed and divorced women receive an additional 5% reservation. Kavita is a widow and deserving,” the official said.