Delhi announces free education for children orphaned by COVID-19
Children who lost their parents to COVID-19 will be given Rs. 2,500 per month until they turn 25 years old and their education will be funded by the Delhi government, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today. He announced a series of welfare measures the city government is taking for families hit by the pandemic. Here are more details on this.
'I stand with all children who lost their parents'
"Many children have lost both parents because of COVID...Such children should not think of themselves as lonely and helpless. I stand with them all the time (sic)," Kejriwal said in a televised statement on Tuesday.
72 lakh people to get 10 kg free ration
Kejriwal also said that 72 lakh people from poor families will be allotted 10 kg of free ration this month. Half of this will be provided by the city government and the other half will be arranged under a central government scheme. The ration will be given even without a proof of low income, the Chief Minister said.
'Whoever needs free ration will get it'
"Not everyone has a ration card and they can't be issued at such short notice...So, in good faith, whoever says they need free ration, because they are poor, will get it," CM Kejriwal was quoted as saying.
Families who lost sole earning member to get Rs. 2,500/month
Furthermore, such families who lost their sole earning members in the pandemic would get Rs. 2,500 per month. This is in addition to the one-time payment of Rs. 50,000, which was announced earlier. "We understand your pain. We know we cannot do anything to bring them back but we will support you financially to the best of our abilities," the CM said.
Delhi has been hit hard by the second COVID-19 wave
Delhi has been severely hit by India's dreadful second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Daily cases in the national capital peaked at nearly 30,000 last month. People even ran from pillar to post to secure basic facilities such as hospital beds and medical oxygen cylinders. However, the situation has since improved, with the city reporting less than 5,000 cases in the past 24 hours.
India's coronavirus crisis
India faced the world's worst coronavirus outbreak over the past month, reporting more than three lakh new infections every day for the past few weeks. However, the graph finally seems to be coming down. In the last 24 hours, the country logged 2.63 lakh new cases - the second straight day that the figure was below three lakh.
