Angul: Keeping in view the commitment made by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take care of all the needy children orphaned by the pandemic, the Angul District Child Protection Unit has been actively pursuing the agenda and reaching out to the needy. As part of this the District Child Protection officer along with this team members has been visiting various villages and identifying such children who will be supported by the government.
The team visited three families at Angul and Banarpal block areas having seven children out of which two children lost their mother, another two children lost their father due to COVID and three children lost their both parents. The team provided the children and their guardians proper counseling and distributed ration kits. While the priority remains to be the education of the children, efforts are being made to help them with all the financial benefits as announced by the Chief Minister.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced the Ashribad Scheme for the orphans which will help them for education, health and maintenance. Under the scheme, children who lost their parents or main earning person of the family on April 1, 2020 or thereafter to Covid-19 will be eligible to be covered under the scheme.