NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar administration said on Friday it has identified 107 children who lost at least one of their parents to Covid-19. They will be given financial assistance under an Uttar Pradesh government scheme.
The Chief Minister Bal Sewa Yojana, launched in July 2021 after the devastating second wave of Covid-19, provides Rs 4,000 as monthly financial assistance to guardians of the children who lost their parents.
The initiative gives Rs 50,000-100,000 as additional compensation apart from free education to those in classes 1 to 8. “Out of the 107, eight children lost both their parents to Covid-19. According to the scheme, we are providing Rs 4,000 monthly aid for those living with close relatives, grandparents, uncles and aunts,” said district probation officer Atul Soni.
A guardian told TOI financial assistance has helped them. Suraj Pal, 11, a native of Ballia, has been living with his father’s brother since last year, when both of his parents succumbed to the viral infection.
“Suraj has been living with us. Since I also have a family of four members, the financial assistance has helped me take care of the child,” said Mohinder Pal, who works as a technician in Noida. Overall, the state has listed 9,904 children who lost a parent and are living with kin. Officials said they are receiving financial aid from the UP government.
The children who don’t have family members as caretakers are being housed by the Child Welfare Committee, officials said.
According to Soni, nearly 40% of the children in UP who lost their parents during the pandemic belong to other states. “To ensure that they are not abandoned, the children’s documents are being sent to the state governments concerned. For receiving the benefits here, it is mandatory to establish that the child is a domicile of Uttar Pradesh and provide medical documents to establish that their parent died due to Covid-19,” he said.
The initiative, announced by Yogi Adityanath, is on the lines of the PM Cares for Children Scheme launched to support orphaned children in May 2021.
