Uttar Pradesh / 40-yr-old woman and her 5 children go without a meal for 5 days in UP, hospitalised

Aligarh: A widow in Aligarh who had lost her job due to the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) was admitted to a hospital on Wednesday along with her five children, apparently after going without food for days.

Doctors treating her at Malkhan Singh District Hospital said the family of six were barely able to talk or stand up when they were admitted to the hospital on Wednesday by non-governmental organisation Good Samaritans, according to a report by news agency PTI.

Guddi, 40, said that after losing her husband to Covid-19, she somehow made a living by working in a factory that made locks. She said the factory shut down due to Covid-19 lockdowns. The district magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh has formed a team to investigate the matter and has extended relief to the family.

The woman narrated her ordeal and said that her eldest son who worked as a daily wage construction worker also lost his job due to the lockdown following which all sources of income dried up. Guddi said that she survived on chapatis given to her by her neighbours for eight weeks but after eight weeks the neighbours also stopped giving her and her children any more food. The entire family went without a single meal after that, the woman said.

A team consisting of three officials have been sent to investigate the matter. The team led by sub divisional magistrate Kunwar Bahadur Singh to investigate the issue and provide immediate assistance including foodgrain, other food items and a sum of ₹5,000 to the affected family. NGOs like the Hands for Help and the Manav Upkar Sanstha have come forward to help with food grains and ration. Vishnu Kumar Bunty, who heads the Manav Upkar Sanstha, said that the probe is necessary and a door-to-door survey should be held to trace hard-hit livelihoods during the second wave of Covid-19.