Couple among 26,000 terminated now operate a roadside snack stall
MALDA: Once employed at a school, a couple from Malda now earn their living selling chop and ghugni by the roadside after losing their jobs in the wake of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Bengal recruitment scam case.
Tanusree Saha Singha and her husband, Bijoy Singha, residents of Ratua in Malda, were appointed as Group D non-teaching staff at Sambalpur Anchal High School under Pukhuria Police Station in 2018. However, their names were among the nearly 26,000 terminated following the court order over alleged irregularities in the recruitment process.
The couple, suddenly jobless, found themselves in a desperate financial situation with two children still in school and a mounting pile of debts.
Today the couple can be seen every evening along English Bazar’s busy Station Road, where Tanusree fries chop while Bijoy helps with customers and supplies. Their small rented stall, filled with the aroma of fried snacks, has become their only means of survival. “We protested, joined demonstrations, but nothing changed,” said Tanusree, wiping her tears as she prepared snacks. “Our savings are gone. Loans have piled up. But I have two children — giving up is not an option.”
The couple’s daughter studies in Class 10 and their son in Class 4, but their education is now uncertain due to financial constraints. Even paying rent for their small home near Gour Road has become difficult.
During the festive season, business was relatively good. Apart from chop and ghugni, the couple now sells biscuits, chips, and roasted peas to supplement their earnings. Few in the neighborhood know about their past.
“People mock us sometimes,” said Tanusree softly. “But we can’t sit and cry forever. Instead of falling into depression or ending our lives, we chose to work hard and rebuild. This is our fight for dignity.”
For this couple, the road from school to frying pans and gas stoves is a harsh reminder of the human cost of a tainted system — and of resilience in the face of despair.
