Neha Rajak, 19, and her family would have sailed through the lockdown had she received her due from the government.

The mentally challenged athlete claimed four power-lifting bronze medals for India at the Special Olympics International World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi last year.

For this, she was supposed to get Rs 4 lakh — a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh for each bronze medal — from the Union sports and youth affairs ministry.

The Rajaks are nowadays forced to live on maarh-bhaat (starchy rice). Even vegetables are a luxury.

Neha’s father Vinod Rajak, a washerman in Sonari, said they had been hopeful about receiving the money in March, but the lockdown stalled the proceedings.

“The Special Olympics Jharkhand even informed us that the wait would be over in March and the money would be credited to Neha’s bank account. I made several rounds of the bank for enquiries, but the lockdown dashed all hopes,” he said.

According to him, he used to earn Rs 8,000 a month by working at a laundry in Bistupur but is jobless during the lockdown. “My wife Anju used to work as a maid but that has stopped as the family (for whom she worked) has shifted base. I am somehow managing the expenses with the help from friends and relatives,” Vinod said.

Special Olympics Jharkhand assistant area director Satbir Singh Sahota said all other special athletes from Jamshedpur who represented the country at the Games had received their money.

“We had requested Special Olympic Bharat to approach the sports ministry and were told that the money would be cleared by March-end. But the lockdown put a brake on cash clearance. We are aware about Neha’s plight,” he said.