Assam announces Rs 3,500 per month, laptops for children orphaned by COVID-19

In a bid to provide relief to the children who lost their parents to COVID-19, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday announced the Mukhyamantri Sishu Sewa Achoni scheme

In a bid to provide relief to the children who lost their parents to COVID-19, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday announced the Mukhyamantri Sishu Sewa Achoni scheme to take care of the Covid orphaned children.

Addressing a press meet at the Assam Administrative Staff College in Guwahati on Saturday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said those children who have lost both their parents and are being looked after by their extended family members will be entitled to Rs 3,500 financial aid per month.

“We have not differentiated anything among APL, BPL or government servants. It is a scheme for everybody,” the Chief Minister added.

He said that children below the age of 10 years without any family support will be provided shelter at child care institutions. They will have access to required education facilities.

Adolescent girls who have been orphaned will be accommodated at reputed institutions like Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya to ensure that they are cared for sensitively and provided proper protection, Sarma said.

In the case of girls of marriageable age who have lost their parents, the government of Assam will provide one tola of gold under the Arundhati Gold scheme and one-time financial assistance of Rs 50,000, he added.

The chief minister further said that all school/college-going children who have lost their parents, including those undergoing vocational training, will be provided laptops/tablets for educational purpose.

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