DCPCR hands over list of 2,029 children orphaned due to Covid in Delhi

“The commission has been able to trace more than 2,029 children who have either lost one or both parents due to Covid. Of these, 67 children are those who have lost both their parents whereas 651 children have lost their mother due to Covid and 1,311 have lost their father due to Covid,” said the statement issued by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).

The state child rights body has identified at least 2,029 children who lost one or both parents to Covid-19 during the fourth wave of the infection in the Capital, and has sent the list to the women and child department to ensure they can avail of Delhi government programmes, the body said in a statement on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the DCPCR said it shared the names of the children with the department of women and child development (WCD) to ensure they can avail of the government programmes. (Representative image)

“The commission has been able to trace more than 2,029 children who have either lost one or both parents due to Covid. Of these, 67 children are those who have lost both their parents whereas 651 children have lost their mother due to Covid and 1,311 have lost their father due to Covid,” said the statement issued by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).

The Capital endured a punishing fourth wave of Covid-19 infections between April and May that led to hospital beds running out of capacity and crematoriums running out of space. Over 786,000 people were infected while over 13,000 died of the infection between March and May.

On May 18, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced ₹50,000 relief for families who have lost their earning member (s) or sole breadwinner to Covid-19, free education, and a monthly allowance of ₹2,500 for those orphaned due to the pandemic till the age of 25.

On Wednesday, the DCPCR said it shared the names of the children with the department of women and child development (WCD) to ensure they can avail of the government programmes.

DCPCR chairperson Anurag Kundu said, “In the last three months, the DCPCR helpline has enabled the commission to reach out to more and more children and their families and made our commission more accessible.”

The helpline , launched in April, was used to undertake various well-being surveys and identify children using the data provided by the health department. Any Delhi resident could register their grievance, share information, or seek any information pertaining to rights of children. More than 4,500 complaints were received in the past three months, said the commission.

Of these, 2,200 have been SOS complaints requiring urgent attention as children or families were in need for essential supplies such as ration, medical emergencies, cases of abandoned children, Covid testing related requirements among other things.

“These SOS complaints were immediately catered to by a designated team within the commission and it was ensured that all these complaints were addressed within 24 hours. Around 85% of the SOS complaints were successfully resolved within 24 hours while the remaining 15% were resolved within 72 hours,” said the commission.

Sonal Kapoor, founder of Protsahan India Foundation, said care must be taken to ensure no child is left behind. “A lot of people, especially from the informal and marginalized sector, did not even get tested for Covid-19 before their death. So it is challenging to prove that they succumbed to Covid even if they died of its symptoms. The government also needs to reimagine the adoption process while maintaining due diligence and bring in mental health in their policy directives,” she said.