Covid has orphaned 101 children in Uttar Pradesh, robbed 454 kids of a parent

NOIDA: Astha and Ashima’s was a close-knit household, with doting parents and grandparents, navigating the pandemic together and looking out for each other. In 11 days, their world had completely changed. The two sisters lost their grandfather to Covid on April 27, and by May 8, their parents and grandmother. In UP, there are more than 100 children like them who the pandemic has orphaned, numbers with the government show.
So far, 555 children living in the state have lost one or both parents to Covid, leaving them in the hands of their nearest relatives. Manoj Rai, director of the state’s women and child development department, told TOI that of the 555, 101 children had lost both parents.
In Noida (Gautam Budh Nagar), the number of children who have lost a parent or been orphaned is 26, district probation officer (DPO) Atul Soni said. Four of these children have lost both parents. In Ghaziabad, eight among 12 children who saw the worst of the pandemic lost both parents, DPO Vikas Chandra said. Some of these kids are with their grandparents now, some with next of kin like an uncle or an aunt. Some are too young to comprehend the scale of the tragedy to have struck them while some are not aware about their parents’ demise.
Astha and Ashima (just six and seven years old) are believed to be with their aunt in Bareilly. Their parents contracted Covid while taking care of their grandfather and were admitted to Sharda hospital in Greater Noida. Their father passed away on May 4. In the early hours of May 5, their grandmother breathed her last. Raj Kumar, RWA president of Panchsheel Wellington at Crossings Republik, said the girls’ mother died on May 8. “There was no family left to conduct the last rites of their mother. The children could have been traumatised. Their paternal aunt took them with them to Bareilly after their grandmother’s death even as their mother was in hospital,” he said.
A similar tragedy struck a family in Greater Noida’s Alpha II. The parents of a 10-year-old boy and his eight-year-old sister passed away within three days of each other. Their father had Covid-like symptoms (he could not be tested) and died on April 22. Their mother, who had tested positive, died on April 24. “The children are too young to realise what has happened to them. Our world has turned upside down,” their grandmother told this correspondent.
Many families are in dire straits because the pandemic has claimed the main earning member. In Greater Noida, Sagar (17), Samira (14) and Saira (11) lost their father. Their uncle Anuj Kumar told TOI the kids’ parents had been working in private companies but had lost their jobs.
“For the past few months, my brother had been riding a bike with Ola as a driver partner. Now, there is no earning member in the family. Some days back, the family was given some food items, including atta, rice, etc but how long will that last?” he said.
Raman (7) and Roshni (6) face a similar predicament. Their father, who worked at a mall in Delhi, died on Covid. Their mother is a housewife. The kids’ grandfather, who retired from the Jal Board, said apart from some food items that included half a kilo of dal, and 2 kilos of rice, they have not received any other assistance. “My son was the only earning member. The younger one does not earn yet. The kids are studying in a private school. I have my pension but how long will I survive?” he asked.
(Names of the children have been changed)