JAIPUR: The details of nearly 7,000 children who lost both parents, parent or were abandoned during Covid have been uploaded on the government portal. Rajasthan is in the top 10 states with 6,827 such children recorded from April 2020 to January 2022.
The maximum number of such children are from Odisha (24,405), followed by Maharashtra (19,623), Gujarat (14,770), Tamil Nadu (11,014), Uttar Pradesh (9,247), Andhra Pradesh (8,760), Madhya Pradesh (7,340), West Bengal (6,835), Rajasthan (6827) Delhi (6,629). This data has been uploaded on the Bal Swaraj Portal.
In Rajasthan, out of 6827 children, 6,098 are those who have either lost mother or father during Covid while 711 have lost both parents. A total of 18 children have also been abandoned during this period. Elaborating on this, an official of Rajasthan child commission told TOI, “We have asked all the districts to give us details of the compensation given to eligible children though only few districts have given us the details. Also, while multiple agencies upload the data on the portal, the details have to be verified as well due to which there are delays.”
The state government had declared that it would look after children orphaned during the pandemic, irrespective of the fact if their parents died due to Covid or some other ailment. Soon after, the central government also declared that children orphaned due to Covid will be looked after by them and launched the Bal Swaraj Portal where the states are to update the details of the children orphaned in their areas. The commission is providing for the children who have lost single parent or have been abandoned by their families due to various reasons.
