577 children lost parents due to Covid-19 across Country
Jammu, May 25, 2021: Up to 577 children have lost their parents to the devastating second COVID-19 wave that has swept the country in the past few months, Central government sources have said. These minors are now living with their immediate family, they said, asking the various state governments to take care of them.
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development is in touch with the various state governments to ensure those children were attended to adequately, sources informed ANI today.
An AFP report dated May 19, meanwhile, put the figure at much higher: “Thousands of children have lost one or both parents in the new pandemic wave ravaging India, where there were already millions of orphans.”
Quoting child rights NGO Protsahan India Foundation, it said, “Children whose parents have died or are sick have been reduced to selling vegetables on the streets.” (PTK)
