After a video of two girls ploughing a farm was widely shared on the Internet, Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has stepped forward with the promise to provide a pair of Ox to their family, which was forced to resort to the extreme step after suffering a severe blow in the lockdown.
The girls - Vennela and Chandana -took the yoke on their shoulders to till the land as the family could not hire a tractor or oxen to plough the land. Their father Nageswara Rao, who used to run a tea stall in Madanapalle Mandal for the past 20 years was left with no source of income after the lockdown decided to return to his native village Rajuvaripalle to do farming.
Taking to Twitter, Sood said that the girls should be allowed to focus on their education and he will provide the family with a pair of oxen.
"Tomorrow morning he will have a pair of Ox to plough the fields. Let the girls focus on their education.. From tomorrow morning, two ox will plough the fields. The farmer is the pride of our country. Protect them," Sood Tweeted.
In a subsequent tweet, Sood said: "This family doesn't deserve a pair of ox, they deserve a Tractor. So sending you one. By evening a tractor will be ploughing your fields. Stay blessed."
In the video that went online, Vennela and Chandana were seen pulling the plough, a job that is usually done using a tractor or bull. In the video Nageswara Rao and his wife Lalita follow their daughters scattering the seeds for the tomato crop.
"We used to live in Madanapalli for the last 15 years and ran a tea stall there. After the lockdown, we closed our stall and stayed home for one month. We did not have any money so we returned to our native village," Vennela said.
"My father said he will cultivate land but we didn't have enough money to hire tractors. So, we thought to help out our family in tilling the land said Vennela, the elder of the two siblings.
Lalita, their mother said that since they could not afford to pay Rs 1,500 per hour as rent for the tractor, they decided to do all the work themselves.
"We have been staying in Madanapalle for the past 20 years in a rented house and running a tea stall. Our business got hampered due to lockdown. After one month of lockdown, all our resources were exhausted and we returned to our native place. Since the rains were good, we started agriculture. We did not have any money to hire a tractor which cost Rs 1,500 per hour. So, we have decided to work on our own. My husband, daughters and I are working," she said.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time that Sonu Sood has reached out to help those in need. Earlier he had arranged transport both flights and railways for many stranded migrants workers to help them get back to their native places.
( With inputs from ANI )