"I was determined to reach home with my father safely. My mother had given me this responsibility," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Sirhulli village in the poor eastern state of Bihar. Scores fell ill or died along the way as they walked hundreds of miles in intense heat after most public transport was halted. Bihar is one of India's most under-developed and conservative states, where child marriage is rife and girls are routinely denied education. "I never thought I would be famous," said the shy teenager, who frequently asked her father to speak for her during the interview.

Source: bd News24 May 27, 2020 12:56 UTC