The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has informed the Supreme Court that over a lakh children have either been orphaned, lost a parent, or abandoned amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic from April 2020.
The child rights body, in an additional affidavit, told the top court that these children need care and protection. The affidavit was filed in a suo motu case on contagion of Covid-19 in children protection homes.
According to information uploaded on its Bal Swaraj portal by the states and Union Territories, the child rights body said up to August 23, there are total 1,01,032 children who are in need of care and protection. The data reflects children who have lost either lost a parent or both between April 1, 2020 to August 23.
The affidavit said out of the total 1,01,032 children — 52,532 are boys, 48,495 are girls, and five are transgender.
According to the data collated after entries from states and UTs — 8,161 children have become orphans, 92,475 have lost either of their parents, and 396 have been abandoned. The data shows that 10,980 children are in the age group of 0-3 years and 16,182 are in age group of 16 to up to 18 years.
The affidavit also said that in Delhi, there are total 5,391 such children — 5,101 have lost one parent ,275 have become orphans, and 15 are abandoned.
In Maharashtra, there are total 15,401 children — 14,925 have lost one parent, 470 have been orphaned, and six have been abandoned. The child rights body the data analysis regarding uploaded individual child entry is in the process.
On Thursday, the case was taken up for hearing by a bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose.
In July, the NCPCR had informed the Supreme Court that over 75,000 children have either lost one or became an orphan during the pandemic and they are in need of care and protection.
(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)
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