18 children orphaned by COVID in district

All of them have been rehabilitated with their local guardians, says Child Welfare Committee chief

Till about a month ago, Raju (6) and Rajeswari (8) used to cuddle with their parents in the single-bedroom rented house, for a peaceful night of sleep. Though their parents were having difficulty in making both ends meet, as daily wage labourers are the worst hit during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they were a happy family. But the pandemic stole the happiness, as the siblings lost their parents in quick succession, to the coronavirus. During the ongoing second wave, the district, especially the city, has been seeing an unprecedented number of infections and at the same time increase in deaths.