Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday announced a pension of Rs 5,000 per month and free education to the children who have lost their parents or guardians due to Covid-19.
CM Chouhan said that the government would also provide interest-free loans to those who lost earning members of their families in a bid to help them start a business "We will provide education free of cost to the children who have lost their parents. They will be provided free ration even if they are not eligible for it," the chief minister said.
The announcement by Chouhan comes at a time when Congress has been demanding minimum income support for the poor as states have announced restrictions on movement to curb the spread of Covid-19. Chouhan said the Covid-19 pandemic has severely hit many families.
"Children have lost their parents, while aged people have been left alone as those taking care of them died due to the viral infection. Our government will stand by such children and families and provide a Rs 5,000 pension per month to them," the CM added.. "These are the children of the state and theirs will be looked after by the government", the chief minister said.
According to the government, reports released on 12 May, the state reported 8,970 new cases of Covid-19 and 84 deaths, taking the tally of infections to 7,00,202 and the death toll to 6,679 so far.
The people of the state are still struggling to the beds in hospitals and battling for medical oxygen and the Remdesivir injections. The shortage of the injections for Covid-19 and Mucormycosis still remains. The government is facing the charges of black marketing and selling fake Remdesivir injections on the BJP leaders.