Thousands of children in Gujarat are orphans after the Covid pandemic second wave. Coronavirus has left the children destitute without a parent’s shadow. According to sources, 1283 children lost their parents, while 20,000 children lost a single parent during the pandemic.
According to the statistics provided by the Gujarat State Child Protection Society, Bal Seva Yojana received 27674 applications from all over the state till December 2021 for assistance. Out of these, Bal Seva Yojana approved 21,000 applications. The total amount spent until now under the scheme is ₹17 crores.
The highest number of applications were from the Ahmedabad district. But, the highest number of approved applications were from the Rajkot district. The Child Protection Society approved more than a thousand applications in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Bhavnagar, and Navsari districts. In Rajkot district, the government-assisted 1845 children who lost one parent, while 104 children lost both parents.
Under the Mukhyamantri Bal Seva Yojana, the government provides monetary and physical assistance to children orphaned during Corona. As per the scheme, the authority shall assist the children having no parents with ₹4,000 per month and children having a single guardian with ₹2,000 per month. The government will provide this amount until the child reaches 18 years of age.
According to an RTI reply, the government has provided ₹14.45 crores to orphaned children. However, the reply did not answer the question regarding the adoption of the orphaned children. The reply stated that no one adopted the orphaned children. However, some political leaders have adopted villages. No political or social leader has come forward to the aid of these innocent children who lost their parent’s umbrellas during the core epidemic.
