Punjab / Punjab announces free education, ₹1,500/month for children orphaned due to COVID-19

Amritsar: Punjab government will provide ₹1,500 per month as social security pension, along with free education up to graduation, for all those children orphaned in the Covid pandemic, as well as families that have lost their breadwinning member. This financial assistance will be provided from July 1 this year.

Reviewing the Covid situation in the state, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh dubbed it as the state’s duty to become the foster parents of the children who have lost both their parents in the pandemic.

He said affected persons would also be eligible for grant of ₹51,000 under the Ashirwaad Scheme from July 1, and would be entitled to free ration under the State Smart Ration Card Scheme and coverage under the Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana. The state government would also assist the affected family members to find a suitable job under Ghar Ghar Rozgaar te Karobaar Mission, he added.

Amarinder said the relief measures will be provided to orphans until they attain the age of 21. In the case of families whose breadwinner has died, these would be provided for an initial period of three years, after which their situation will be re-assessed, and where the vulnerability continues to exist, the period may be appropriately increased.

The CM also announced the constitution of a monitoring committee, headed by the minister for social security & women and child development, to review progress and relief measures for every single case. The committee will meet at least once a month, he said.

CM for house-to-house surveillance

Amid projections and concerns of a possible third wave of Covid and its impact on children, Amarinder ordered the health department to go into mission mode with preparation, which will include specialised training of all doctors in the health department by June-end, while directing house-to-house surveillance to control the current spread of the disease in the rural areas.

Expressing concern over the spread of Covid in rural areas, the CM directed teams of the health and other departments to start house-to-house surveillance in every village.

Stressing the importance of involving sarpanches in this exercise, the CM ordered their prioritisation, along with that of panches, as well as block samiti and zila parishad Chairmen and members, in vaccination.

A day after Punjab government notified black fungus as a disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the CM directed the health department to ensure that the necessary medicines for treating the same are made available to all the government hospitals.