"We hope to at least get to eat rice with salt", Financial stress of the poor due to COVID-19.

Jahari Ram Mochi, who has been making shelter on the roadside of Vishnupur Municipality-6 in Saptari, has been living in hunger after she stopped receiving wages. There is not even a rustic grain in her hands.

She lives in front of the office of the state minister, Shailendra Prasad Sah and The Armed Police Force. She said she was tired of hearing the relief news and added that her life had become a misery when no one had come to distribute the relief .

Ghurne Devi, a single woman from the same place, is always asking for help. There is no exit from the epidemic. Due to the lockdown, she and her three hungry children have been living in great tragedy as she cannot go far from home for begging. 'Poor have no friends and relatives.' No matter how much the nearby neighborhood help they cannot provide food for her and her family on daily basis ,' says Ghurne Devi. 'We hope to get to eat at least rice & salt ', she added.

As the lockdown period increases, daily wage workers in Saptari, the district with the highest poverty rate, are starving. Relief has not yet been distributed at the local level for the poor and those living on wages. The local level has not been able to collect the names of the workers at risk according to the relief distribution guidelines.

Nine days ago, the state government had announced the provision of food for poor and daily wage workers during lockdown period. According to Prabhakar Yadav, chief of the District Coordination Committee, Saptari, the state has sent funds to all the local level to distribute relief to the affected workers, poor and poor farmers. But the local levels are settling for an all-party meeting, just recently. In addition, there is a big controversy over which names are being collected by some locals.

There has been widespread criticism for the delays and negligence of the local level. Akash Rajbhandari of Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality-1, Bhardaha, alleged that the real wage laborers for relief were collected by the family of the people who can afford ,who replaced the poor & needy.

According to The Ward Chairperson, they have tried to distribute the relief to the poor & needy but the people who can afford are looking to get their hands on it as well. Which has lead to insufficient relief  funds for the poor families.