Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has extended assistance to four orphaned children of Matwad village in Chamba district. The CM spoke to the eldest sibling, Nisha, through a video call on Friday, enquired about their well-being and assured her of full support from the state government.
During the interaction, the CM encouraged Nisha to resume her studies and told her that they would be admitted to a Child Care Institution.
He assured her that the government would bear the entire cost of their education, accommodation, food and other essential needs and would also provide additional financial support.
The heartbreaking condition of the children came to light after their photographs from Matwad village in Bhajotra gram panchayat went viral on social media last week.
The images showed four children living in a dilapidated room alongside cattle. The father of the children passed away in May 2022. Subsequently, their mother left them due to illness and personal hardship. Since then, the siblings have been living without parental care or any stable support.
After the images went viral on social media, Chamba district administration officials visited Matwad village and assessed the situation.
The children have now been brought under the Sukhashray Scheme, which provides care and protection to orphaned and destitute children.
During her conversation with the CM, Nisha stated that she had to discontinue education after Class X to support her younger siblings.
She told Sukhu that her 15-year-old brother was working in Chennai as a labourer to support the family, while her two younger siblings stay with her in the village.
The CM also advised Nisha to call her brother back from Chennai and assured her that the government would arrange suitable employment for him locally so that he was not forced to work as a labourer outside the state.
Nisha thanked the CM and said the government’s intervention had given her family a new sense of hope. Until now, the children were surviving on subsistence farming and a small amount of money sent by the brother from Chennai. However, with the state government’s support, the siblings can now hope for a better future.
Meanwhile, help has also poured in for the children from different quarters. A team led by Ajay Banyal, Assistant Public Relations Officer in the Department of Information and Public Relations, is providing them with ration and clothes, along with other daily necessities.
