Friday, March 29, 2024

Five ‘invisible’ Covid orphan siblings in Madhya Pradesh

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By Express News Service

BHOPAL:   Three months after Madhya Pradesh became the first state in the country to announce a slew of welfare measures for Covid orphans, five little Scheduled Caste siblings — three girls and two boys — in Amaha village of Bhind district are still awaiting assistance for want of paperwork. They were completely invisible to the administration till the local MLA spotted them recently.

Their rickshaw driver father Raghvendra Valmiki succumbed to Covid in January, while mother Girija died two months later. Panchayat officials claim both possibly died due to Covid, but there is no documentation yet.

At seven, the eldest is a girl who is now shouldering the responsibility of a parent because the granddad they live with doesn’t care. Her youngest sibling is an eight-month-old boy. They live in a partially damaged hut near the village’s cremation ground and are surviving on food and milk offered by villagers.  “Our parents died during the Corona wave. We request the government to provide us a house, food, a safe drinking water connection and education,” said the eldest.

It was local Congress MLA Dr Govind Singh who spotted them during a recent visit to the village. He immediately offered Rs 2,000 to the orphans and asked the village sarpanch and secretary to pool in Rs 10,000 each. Singh also granted them Rs 20,000 from his Local Area Development Fund, but since they do not have a bank account, the money is yet to reach them. 

Grandfather counselled, welfare steps expedited

Pancha yatat secretary Ashok Parasar admitted to their lapse. “We didn’t act in time. The orphans don’t have any valid ID/residential proof. We’ve now got them Aadhaar cards. Other paperwork is on. Singh has assured to get the children all benefits under the Below Poverty Line schemes as soon as all documents are ready,” Parasar said.

Bhind district collector Satish Kumar S said a team from the women and child development department has already visited the village and completed the social and family survey of the children. “We’re also trying to shift the kids to a proper children home. Evidence is being collected to figure out whether they are eligible for the Covid orphans scheme,” he said. The collector added that the children’s grandfather, who was not taking their proper care, was counselled.

“Our parents died during the pandemic. We have nothing to eat and are completely dependent on the largesse of the villagers,” said the eldest of the five siblings. In May last, Madhya Pradesh had announced a slew of measures for the welfare of the Covid orphaned children, saying that the surviving parent/guardian/relatives tasked with taking the children’s care will be disbursed interest-free loans to start a business for their survival and upkeep.

Welfare assistance in MPIn May this year, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced Rs 5,000 monthly pension to each Covid orphan, besides free education and free monthly ration supply. The action came after The New Indian Express ran a nationwide series on Covid orphans, starting with that of twin sisters in Bhopal

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