Thousands of children in Madhya Pradesh lost their parents to Covid-19 and, for over a year, many of them have stopped getting the monthly financial assistance from the state government that was promised to make their troubled lives a little easier.
In May 2021, then-chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced that children who lost their family's sole earning member to Covid-19 would receive Rs 5,000 per month and free education. However, many beneficiaries have seen these promises falter in recent months.
During the pandemic, 1,041 children in Madhya Pradesh lost both parents to Covid-19 while 8,000 lost one.
Bhopal alone has 1,662 such children and Vanisha and Vivaan Pathak are among them, having lost both their mother and father to Covid. Vanisha secured 99.8% in her Class 10 exams, becoming the Bhopal topper, and her brother Vivaan is currently in the 8th grade and aspires to follow in her footsteps.
The government has been running two schemes for children like them: the Sponsorship Scheme and the Mukhyamantri Bal Ashirwad Yojana. They are entitled to Rs 5,000 per month, each, under the schemes but have not been getting the money for over a year and a half.
"We last received money in January 2023. Since then, neither my sister nor I have gotten anything in our accounts," said Vivaan.
"My maternal uncle and aunt are paying our school fees because the government is not helping. There are children in worse conditions than ours who ask officials about when the money will come every day, but get no response," he rued.
Vivaan's aunt, Dr Bhavana, said, "It's heartbreaking to see these children waiting for the government's promises to be fulfilled. They make announcements but then end the schemes. The situation is terrible; many children have had to quit school and start working."
The children were also promised Ayushman Bharat cards to ensure their healthcare costs are covered, but there have been gaps there as well.
"We received Ayushman cards, but they were never activated. Whenever we go to activate them, we are told to come back later because the server is down," said Vivaan.
Dr Bhavana added, "Some children became very ill - Vanisha was sick, and her treatment cost Rs 1 lakh. The Ayushman scheme has provided no benefits to us. We are managing because we can, but the future of some of the children is uncertain."
'No Scheme Will Be Stopped'
Asked about these problems, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said none of the schemes will be stopped.
"If there are any developments in the financial situation, we will address them. We started this initiative first, and no ongoing scheme will be stopped. If there are technical issues, we will resolve them. Our goal is not just to provide financial aid but to connect people with employment opportunities," said Mr Yadav.
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