Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 11

“They are the only ones I have to live for. But I always keep on thinking what will happen to them once I am gone,” says a distressed and depressed grandfather. He recently lost his son to Covid while his daughter-in-law had died a few years ago. Raising his three grandchildren aged 9, 8 and 7 single-handedly, he says they are his hope. Even his wife doesn’t keep well these days.

This is the story of many of those children who were deprived of their parents’ affection due to the virus.

Jalandhar-based Pritam Singh (67) (name changed) hardly has any money. He is a daily wager. When his son died of Covid last year in September, he was pushed to the brink. With three small children to feed and take care of, he says, “Initially, we spent our money on the treatment of our daughter-in-law and then on my son. We used to have a small house of our own, but we had to sell that because of all these problems. Now we live on rent,” Singh shared his problem. He said all day, he keeps on thinking about the future of his grandchildren who don’t even have a permanent shelter as all of them live on rent. Halle te rishtedar khaan peen da kr dinde hai, baad vich ki hoyega enna da (At present, my relatives are taking care of meals for my grandchildren, but what will happen when we are not there) this keeps him worried every minute. Even his wife has suffered two paralysis attacks and is unable to do any work. Even after all these problems, the grandfather refused to send them to a shelter home.

Singh has two granddaughters and a grandson, and it was not easy for them to bear the loss of both their parents. “I am always worried about their studies. But my daughter takes care of their studies. The children get work online, and since my daughter has a smartphone, she ensures that they do their work. My only wish is to help them get a good education. At least, they will be able to survive on their own and face the world,” he said.

Anganwari workers from the area said the pension of the orphaned children has already started.