On Saturday, the Shiv Sena praised the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government for announcing a monthly pension for children who have lost both parents, saying it could serve as a model for other states.
According to the Sena’s mouthpiece Saamana, state and federal governments must take notice of children who have become orphans as a result of Covid-19 and provide them with a “humanitarian shield.”
The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday announced that children who lost their parents or guardians to Covid-19 will be provided free education and a ₹5,000 monthly pension. The state will also bear the expenses of education of these children.
The editorial in Saamana, which spoke about the plight of children who had lost their parents, welcomed the initiative.
The state government in Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena leads the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi coalition government, decided earlier this week to form a task force under the collector in each district to identify children who have been orphaned as a result of Covid-19 and ensure their safety.
Madhya Pradesh was one of the first states to raise awareness about the plight of children who have been orphaned as a result of Covid-19 and to take steps to prevent unscrupulous people from profiting from the situation. A number of other states have followed suit.
Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi chief minister, also announced on Thursday that the government will provide free education to children whose parents have died of Covid-19, as well as financial assistance to all those, particularly senior citizens, who have lost the only earning member of their family to the disease.
On Thursday, the state of Chhattisgarh announced that the government would pay for the education of children whose parents died as a result of Covid-19. Children in Classes 1 to 8 will receive a monthly stipend of $500, and children in Classes 9 to 12 will receive a monthly stipend of $1,000.
