Orphaned ‘twice’, teen with special needs adopted by Khattar govt

For 16-year-old Vishal, an orphaned teen with special needs, May 30 will always be a memorable day as he was adopted by the Haryana Government.

Vishal, who hails from Faridabad, was adopted by a couple Jaipal and Jagwanti, as they had no child of their own. Both of them recently succumbed to Covid-19 leaving him orphaned yet again.

“Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, who was on his way from Chandigarh to Delhi today, stopped at Deep Ashram to meet the inmates where he was apprised of Vishal’s status. Moved by his story, the CM immediately announced to adopt him on behalf of the government and announced that all his expenses would be borne by the government,” a spokesperson said.

During his visit, the CM also talked about the Mukhyamantri Bal Sewa Yojana that will secure the future of those children who have lost both their parents to Covid-19.

“Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a financial package through the PM-Cares Fund for securing the future and better upbringing of such children till the age of 23,” Khattar said in a statement.

He added, “Today is also the service day of the Bharatiya Janata Party, so my party workers had informed me about Vishal, who is mentally, physically and visually impaired and who had lost both his parents to Covid-19. I appreciate the management of Deep Ashram Sanstha and announce that the Haryana Government will help such institutions and ashrams so that there is no difficulty in raising such children.”

Late Jaipal and Jagwanti, both residents of Faridabad had no child of their own and so they had adopted Vishal, who was an orphan. On May 14, Jaipal succumbed to Covid, and within a week on May 21, even Jagwanti lost her life to the deadly virus, leaving Vishal orphaned again.