Boon for kids of Covid victims, state to bear medical, education expenses

NT Correspondent

Mangaluru: In a humanitarian act, the state government has decided to bear the medical and educational expenses of children who lost their parents to the Covid-19 pandemic, announced Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Speaking at a function organized here on Monday to distribute Rs one lakh compensation to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families which lost their breadwinners due to Covid since March 2020, he said it was a heart rending function as the virus has wrecked thousands of families by snatching the lives of fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandfathers and grandmothers . The death of near and dear ones will continue to haunt them for many years, he said.

‘’We have heard of people dying in the early 20th century due to plague and cholera. The Covid pandemic surfaced despite humanity achieving tremendous progress in the field of medicine,’’ he said. His predecessor B.S.Yediyurappa had announced financial relief of Rs 1 lakh to BPL families which lost their earning members due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The Government of India had already announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 and the amount has been debited to the bank accounts of eligible families, he said.

The CM also said the health department is ready to meet any eventuality that may arise out of an outbreak of the pandemic again by creating additional ICU and oxygenated beds in all hospitals. “The lives of people of Karnataka are safe in the hands of the state government”, he added.

The Departments concerned have been asked to find out and register the names of such children orphaned by Covid to extend them all benefits. The government had followed a similar procedure when the state witnessed unprecedented floods due to unseasonal rains between September and December this year. The crop compensation was disbursed among needy farmers within a fortnight.