The people in the vicinity call her “karma yoddha (work warrior)” and the life of Navaneeta Neog Barua is an inspiration for hundreds of women who aim at self-reliance to beat poverty.

Navaneeta, a resident of Dirak Bormesay village of Kakopathar in Tinsukia district, has been selling hens and ducks to bring up her children and run her family amid the coronavirus crisis.

“For the last nine years, I have been buying local hens and ducks and selling those in Rupai Siding, Doomdooma, Kakopathar and Tinsukia town. I leave for work early in the morning. I used to ride a bicycle. Recently I bought a Scooty. I purchased it with whatever little I had saved from this small business,” she said.

There are hundreds of women in the rural areas of Kakopathar, Daisajan, Diyamuli and Sadia who assist their families in this way as their husbands are small farmers and the areas are affected by floods.

“If women like us, who are trying to defeat poverty by struggling hard, get financial assistance from the government, nothing would have been better.

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has doubled our struggle,” a woman who sells vegetables to bring up her three schoolgoing children said.

Many women work in the nurseries to make ends meet, but even those jobs are running out. The owners are facing losses in what could have been their busiest season due to the lockdown and are trying their best to cope with the prevailing situation.

“Our nursery business was hit hard as soon as the government urged all non-essential businesses to close on March 24,” owners of Strawberry Native Plant Nursery, Shyam Bhagat, and his brother Saroj Bhagat, told this correspondent.

They started their business in the first week of March keeping in mind the spring planting season.

“Round lemon, coconut, guava, orange, apple, bonsai, bamboo saplings and a variety of nursery items, including betel nut plants and climbers, are available in the lowest price range,” Shyam said.

Although the government has allowed them to open certain non-life sustaining businesses with terms and conditions, the nursery business owners are finding difficult to hire staff and run their trade.

“I have started online order delivery, but rarely get any orders now given the ongoing uncertainty. We have incurred severe losses in March, April and May when the business should be at its peak. The season of trade has almost gone. Let us see what happens in September, October and November,” a nursery owner said.

Meanwhile, the government has come forward with schemes to help small traders survive.