Some did not even carry Rs 25 in their purse when they decided to pool money to buy a lottery ticket worth Rs 250 weeks ago.
One of them had even borrowed the meagre amount from an acquaintance to try her luck.
But, the 11 women, members of Haritha Karma Sena, the green army under the Parappanangadi Municipality, never dreamt of making a windfall which would turn them into crorepati in a stroke.
They were announced the winners of the monsoon bumper of whopping Rs 10 crore, by the Kerala lottery Department following a draw held on Wednesday.
"We have purchased lottery tickets before by pooling money. But this is the first time we have won a mega prize," an elated Radha, who bought the ticket after pooling money from her colleagues, said.
Another woman said they were eagerly waiting for the draw but felt sad after someone told them that a ticket sold in neighbouring Palakkad had won the first prize.
"The excitement and happiness knew no bounds when we finally came to know that we hit the jackpot. All of us are facing hardships in life and the money will be a relief to some extent to solve our problems," she said.
The women have a tough time making ends meet and the humble salary they draw as members of the Haritha Karma Sena is the only income of their families.
Haritha Karma Sena is engaged in collection of non-biodegradable waste from households and establishments, which is sent to shredding units for recycling.
Sheeja, the chairman of Haritha Karma Sena consortium at the Municipality, said the lady luck smiled on the most deserving people this time.
She said all the winners are very hardworking and only source of income for their families.
"Many have debts to pay... have daughters to marry off... or have to meet the treatment expenditure of near ones. They are living in very humble households fighting harsh realities of life," she told PTI.
A large number of people on Thursday flocked to the municipality godown premises here to meet the bumper lottery winners and congratulate them.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
