UP Govt steps in to help five orphaned kids living in Pratapgarh graveyard

The Uttar Pradesh Government has reportedly taken cognisance of of a media report that revealed that five orphaned kids were living in a graveyard in Pratapgarh after the death of their AIDS-afflicted parents.

The state government has reportedly said that it will provide the children with Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards and other essential facilities so that they can start their lives anew, and not be victims of deep rooted social prejudices and lack of awareness about AIDS.

The five children - the youngest is just 7 years old - have been living in a graveyard after the death of their parents due to AIDS.

Fearing that others may contract the virus from the children - four boys and one girl - their relatives and others forced them out of Jamua village three months back.

With nowhere to go they took refuge in the village graveyard, next to where their parents are buried. The oldest among the siblings is a boy aged 17.

A tattered tarpaulin tent under a tree and two broken cots are now home for them. And for food, they primarily depend on handouts by villagers.

The state government has already allotted them a home under the Indira Awas Yojna and a promise to bring the children back to the mainstream.