577 children orphaned due to COVID-19: Smriti Irani

On Tuesday, the Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that 577 children across the country have been orphaned in the past 55 days by the second wave.

According to senior officials, the Women and Child Development ministry began investigating the issue of Covid orphans after messages for adopting them started flooding social media. “We have been in touch with all states and asked them to identify Covid orphans from their districts. We have ascertained, from the data received, that there are currently 577 of them… Delhi, for instance, has one Covid orphan in this period,” an official said.

She also said that the government is committed to support and protect every vulnerable child who lost both parents to Covid.

"GOI (government of India) is committed to support and protect every vulnerable child due to loss of both parents to Covid-19. From 1st April 2021 till 2:00 pm today, the state governments & UTs across the country have reported 577 children whose parents succumbed to Covid-19," Ms Irani said in a tweet.

A team at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences is ready to counsel the children, a report said.

There is no shortage of funds for ensuring the welfare of these children, it added.

"The Centre is in constant touch with states and districts about these children. There is no shortage of funds for their welfare. The women and child development ministry has held meetings with all stakeholders, including the UNICEF," NDTV quoted.

On May 4, Irani had urged citizens to report instances of children found to be orphaned by Covid-19 to either the helpline 1098 or child welfare committees or the local police. “It is illegal to give or take orphan children of any one else in adoption,” she warned.

On May 21, the Centre had issued an advisory to states and Union territories to review the facilities for vulnerable groups impacted by Covid-19, such as children who have been orphaned, senior citizens and members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who may need guidance to access government support facilities.

Free education for COVID orphans:

Earlier Sonia Gandhi wrote to prime minister Narendra Modi to provide free education to children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gandhi highlighted that several young children have lost one or both parents to COVID-19. "These children are left with the trauma of loss and no support towards a stable education or future," she said.

Gandhi also asked PM Modi consider providing free education at the Navodaya Vidhyalayas to such children.“I feel that as a nation, we owe it to them to give them hope for a robust future after the unimaginable tragedy that has befallen them," Gandhi wrote.