New Delhi, May 29: As the second wave of Covid-19 begins to recede after wreaking havoc across India, 577 children lost both parents in its wake between April 1 and May 25, according to the data provided by the women and child development ministry.
However, experts and judges say this figure could be much higher than reported.
Even, the Supreme Court on May 28 said precious time was being lost as children orphaned, abandoned and traumatised by the COVID-19 pandemic were starving without food on the streets of “this large country”, according to The Hindu.
The apex court ordered district authorities across the country to immediately fan out and identify these children in need of care and provide them with basic needs like food, shelter and clothes.
“Days are passing by without children getting any food... Hope you will understand [to the Centre and the State governments] the agony these children are undergoing on the streets... We do not know the age of these children starving on the streets or how many of them are there in such a large country,” a visibly anguished Justice L. Nageswara Rao, accompanied by Justice Aniruddha Bose on the Bench, said.
Justice Rao said the actual number of children abandoned or orphaned may be much more than what has been cited in official and news reports.
Ms. Bhati and advocate Swarupama Chaturvedi, for the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, said the Commission had an online portal ‘Bal Swaraj’ wherein district authorities could individually upload the figures of orphans and children in need of care and protection within their respective jurisdictions. District authorities have already been given the password to operate the portal.
