Delhi govt urges people to donate for child welfare fund

New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) The Women and Child Development Department of the Delhi government has urged people to donate to the Delhi Child Welfare Fund, which will be used for children.

The department has also asked citizen of Delhi to share details of children who have been left orphaned or have lost one of their parents due to Covid pandemic.

"If you know a child who has lost one or both parents to Covid-19, call Childline on 1098 or mail us the details of such a child at [email protected], a circular issued by WCD Department said.

The government has urged people to make contribution for the purpose, asserting that, "Donate and do your bit for children by contributing towards Delhi Child Welfare Fund to secure well-being of children in need of care and protection and for their rehabilitation."

With this, the government hopes people will come forward to sponsor various developmental schemes such as residential care, subsistence support, education, medical and mental health, vocational training and skill development, foster care, sponsorship, aftercare and others.

The Women and Child Development Department of the Delhi government will undertake a survey to identify children who have been orphaned during the Covid-19 pandemic, an official said on Friday.

Earlier in July this year, the department had appointed 20 welfare officers to conduct the survey in different childcare homes, institutions and district offices in the city to find out the number of children who have lost one of their parents during the Covid pandemic. The Delhi government has planned to give a compensation of Rs 2,500 per month to such children.

As per the officials in DCPCR, over 2,000 children in Delhi have lost either one or both their parents due to Covid-19 pandemic, of which 67 of them lost both their parents, since the pandemic outbreak in March last year.

As many as 651 children have lost their mothers and 1,311 children lost their fathers to the infection, according to an earlier report of DCPCR.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on May 14 said his government would bear the cost of education and upbringing of the children orphaned during the pandemic.