Sonia, 12, and her younger siblings have been abandoned by relatives and are living alone in a village in Agra
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today promised all help for four abandoned siblings in Agra after an NDTV report highlighted their plight. The children were found living on their own in a tiny shed in a village in Agra, cooking their own food, with Rs 1,000 given to them for sustenance.
In a tweet, the Chief Minister's Office said, "
Soon after, a district official met the children at the village.
The four - the eldest is 12 years old while the youngest is six - were left homeless after their uncle threw them out. They had been tossed around between relatives since their parents allegedly committed suicide two years ago, driven by poverty and loss of crops.
On Tuesday, the children walked to a police station to ask for help. The police took them back to their village and asked the Panchayat or village council to take a decision.
"We decided that they will be given a room and Rs. 1,000 a month," the village chief, Ram Jeet, told NDTV. Asked how the children would manage food and other living expenses on their own, and with that money, he shrugged, "The oldest girl can work in the fields and earn money."
The children were left to fend for themselves in the room on their father's land, right next to their grandparents' home. But Sonia, the eldest, appeared happy just to have a place to stay. "I want to study and see that my brother and sisters study also," she said.