India’s statistics show more than half a million children are left with single parent since the pandemic

NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) is an Indian lawful body that works closely with Ministry of Women and Child Development. The commission informed Supreme Court about the statistics came up based on the uploaded information by administration. According to the body, from 1 April 2020 to January 2022, nearly 1.47 lakhs children lost their parents, out of which 70 thousand are girls, 76 thousand are boys and 4 of them are transgenders. Reason behind deaths apart from Covid are also other diseases in this data.

NCPCR utilized Bal Swaraj portal – Covid care as a source to collect data. The portal uploads data given by State and central administration on their sites. Odisha is on top where about 24,405 children lost their parents and Maharashtra on second with 19,623. Children of 8-13 years age group are 59,010 in number, Children of 4-7 years age group are 26,080, while the ones from 14-15- and 16-18-years age group are 22 thousand each, in total. In last two years, everybody lost their loved ones, but how it affected children is disheartening. As per the information, 10 thousand children were orphaned and half a million lost one of their parents. 66 among them are living with adoption agencies and 39 with hostels.

Saanvi lost her mother due to Covid and is now completely dependent on her father. She is 15 years old and is heartbroken. She said, ‘It’s been more than a year now. She left us in December 2020. I miss her everyday and nothing can replace this pain.’ Saanvi’s father Dinesh told Eat News, how terrible initial months were for both of them. He said, ‘It was hard to believe because she was recovering so quickly and was just about to discharge. Two days before her discharge, she complaint of coughing and difficulty in breathing. The same night she passed away. Due to Covid Protocols, Saanvi couldn’t look her last time, that is when I realized its going to be very hard for her.’ Now Saanvi lives with her grandparents and father. Her grandparents became her support system and are helping her to come out from the depressing state. According to them, ‘Always bubbly and colorful, we saw our Saanvi first time crying out loud and quiet for months, after the tragedy. Since then, we are trying to divert her mind from that and telling her to focus on her future’.

During the second wave of Covid in India in 2021, it was observed that 60 to 70 per cent of the Covid patients were younger than 60, half out of them were below 45, as per the experts. Saanvi’s mother was not suffering from any disease. According to her doctor, ‘Saanvi’s mom did not suffer any disease before her Covid situation. No breathing related problems or any other kind. Her check up history was completely normal.’

Due to the shortage of oxygen, healthcare infrastructure collapsed in India during the second wave of Covid. People were seen selling oxygen cylinders in black market. But Indian Health Ministry in a response confirmed, no state reported even a single death due to shortage of oxygen during the second wave of Covid-19 infection, in upper house of Parliament of India. ‘Politics has always been dirty. Leaders never mind being unfair or liar. Whole world saw, thousands of people arranging oxygen cylinders, while some died because of wait in India. All politicians care about is how to blame opposition for the cause. No one knows how to take responsibility’, said Saanvi’s father.

Just like Saanvi, Gunjan also lost her loved ones. ‘I lost my both the parents in pandemic. First it was my mother and a week later, my father’, said Gunjan. She called it ‘horrible days’ and said, ‘My mother had asthma but my father was well. My mother died due to the shortage of oxygen and a week later, father. He couldn’t bear the pain of losing his wife, that is when his condition started deteriorating and he also passed away. The situation was worse for us. I stayed away for 3 months from my kids and husband because I did not want them to catch virus in any way’.

Gunjan has accepted the truth of losing her parents, but for her mental state, she joined a therapy session. Gunjan told Eat News, ‘Although, I accepted the truth, but I use to cry for days alone in kitchen, bathroom. I thought it’s better to consult a doctor and look in the matter. I was told that I am suffering from depression. I am on my medications now, plus I take care of my routine, therapy sessions. I do think of my parents, but I don’t dig down deeper.’ As per the given information, depression and anxiety rate in countries has been increased amid pandemic. In India, it has raised upto 35 per cent each, higher than other countries.