UP family of 6 hit by Covid distress, rescued

Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), June 17 (IANS) A Covid widow, who had lost her job in the pandemic, and her five children, have been admitted to a hospital in Aligarh, after they lived more than a week in dire distress.Doctors at the Malkhan Singh District Hospital said that the six family members were barely able to talk or stand up when they were admitted on Tuesday by some persons.The mother, Guddi, 40, told reporters that after having lost her husband to Covid last year, she had been working in a lock factory but that too, shut down a few months ago.Her eldest son Ajay, 20, was working as a daily wager at a construction site but work there had also stopped.She said that the neighbours had been giving them 'chappatis' for nearly two months but the food had also stopped coming.Since the past 10 days, the family did not eat a morsel.After the news of the family spread, District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh rushed a team of officials on Wednesday to investigate the matter and extend relief, an official release said.A team of three officials led by Sub Divisional Magistrate Kunwar Bahadur Singh investigated the matter and provided immediate relief including food grain, other food items and a sum of Rs 5,000 to the affected family, the release said.
--IANS amita/in