Covid-19 impact: Jharkhand identifies 234 children who lost parents to virus
The deadly coronavirus infection, that has killed over 5,000 people across Jharkhand since its outbreak last year, has also left hundreds of children orphaned or with a single parent, mostly after the onset of its second wave in early April this year
The deadly coronavirus infection, that has killed over 5,000 people across Jharkhand since its outbreak last year, has also left hundreds of children orphaned or with a single parent, mostly after the onset of its second wave in early April this year. The department of women, child development and social security has so far identified 234 such children, officials said on Sunday.
The identification of such children, that was started last month after chief minister Hemant Soren’s direction, is still on. Special secretary at the department DK Saxena said, “Till now, we have identified as many as 234 children who have lost either one parent or both during Covid-19 pandemic. The identification process of such children is, however, still on and will continue.”
The department has, however, still not segregated the number of children left with a single parent and those orphaned. “Details about children left with single parent or with none is being separated at the district level. It will be uploaded on the NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) website by the districts,” Saxena said.
Chief minister Hemant Soren recently said that the government will take care of children who lost their parents to the pandemic. The government has also issued a centralised helpline number, besides helpline numbers at the district level for information of such children.
The chief minister also directed district administration officials to ensure proper care for such children, as many of them were left vulnerable to exploitation and child trafficking.
Soren also said if any other family member of such children agree to look after them, they will be given monthly sponsorship assistance.
Identification of such children was being done in coordination with district child welfare committees (CWC). The committees were also chalking out strategies for rehabilitation of such children. Ranchi’s CWC chairperson Rupa Verma said, “There are 19 cases under process so far in Ranchi district. Many phone calls are also coming from outside Ranchi. We are coordinating with respective districts for such cases.”
Citing an example, she said an 18-year-old boy from Jamtara, who emerged as the district topper in matriculation examinations, called and narrated that he lost both his parents to Covid-19. “The meritorious boy, who is a single child, sought help for education and livelihood. Even though this is not a case of our district, we talked to many educational institutes, who agreed to teach him free of cost.”
Verma said they were also getting several cases where orphaned children do not want to stay with their relatives. “We are chalking out alternative plans such as child care home for such children,” she said.
She said a school student, who lost both his parents, was now staying with his uncle in Ranchi. “When this boy was asked the help he expects from the government, he said he will like to continue his education at a boarding school. He doesn’t want to stay with his uncle,” she said.
About the financial assistance scheme for such children, Verma said under a state government scheme, orphaned children will be given an assistance of ₹2,000 per month, besides other facilities, including food and education.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced a number of welfare measures for children who lost their parents to Covid-19. The Centre recently announced that PM-CARES fund will contribute through a specially designed scheme to create a corpus of ₹10 lakh for each of them, when he or she reaches 18 years of age.
