Keonjhar: An infant in her arms, her four-year-old son holding her hand, and an uncertain future staring at her, 20-year-old Anushka walks from one government office to another, pleading for a roof over her children's heads. For this young mother in Keonjhar, survival has become a daily battle against hunger, homelessness, and abandonment.

Once filled with dreams of building a family, her life has taken a heartbreaking turn. After her husband allegedly left her and moved to Jajpur, Anushka was left to care for their two sons, including a four-month-old infant, with virtually no means of survival.

The family’s troubles began after their house was demolished in 2023. Anushka tried selling vegetables and collecting scrap to earn money, while her husband worked as a daily-wage labourer. However, motherhood and mounting hardships gradually made survival more difficult.

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Today, the young mother and her children reportedly spend their nights in bus shelters, shop verandas and an under-construction building on the Collectorate premises. With little food and no proper cooking facilities, even arranging a daily meal has become a struggle. Her children are reportedly suffering from malnutrition and high fever.

Although the administration has issued a ration card providing 20 kg of rice, the family still lacks the most basic necessity: a safe home. Repeated appeals for housing assistance have yet to bring a lasting solution.

At an age when many dream of a secure future, Anushka is fighting simply to keep her children alive. As she waits for help, one question remains: how long must a mother plead before her children's suffering ends?