Many orphans miss ₹10L aid as Covid deaths go underreported: TD

Nellore: While praising the government aid of Rs 10 lakh each for the children who lost their parents to Covid as well as Rs 15,000 toward funeral expenses to families of Covid victims, TTD state spokesperson Anam Venkataramana Reddy said the benefit would have reached many children but for underreporting of Covid deaths by the government.

“Both the schemes are of no use to a majority of children who lost their parents to Covid as the government downplayed the real figures of Covid deaths to showcase that they are containing the deadly virus,” he alleged.

According to the TD leader, the district administration showed 302 Covid deaths between March and May this year, which means 3.3 deaths per day in the entire district, but the rush at graveyards contradicted the government figures. A grave injustice was done to the poor, as a result, he alleged.

Referring to the announcement of Prime Minister of Rs 10 lakh deposit for orphaned kids, he took a dig at the state government for claiming it as its own scheme even while not recording all the deaths.