Future of 3 boys uncertain as single mother succumbs to COVID in Tirunelveli village

The entire Munanjipatti, a village in Tirunelveli district, where the three siblings reside, has plunged into grief as the boys, who had already lost their father in an accident in 2016, have no one to support them.

Maria Gnanaselvi (38) was residing with her children at Munanjipatti village in Nanguneri taluk of Tirunelveli district. After the death of her husband Jeba Manickaraj, a driver, in a road accident five years ago in Andhra Pradesh Gnanaselvi worked as cook in an aided school and ran the family. The lone breadwinner of the family recently succumbed to COVID after a day’s treatment in a hospital, sources said.

Much to the agony, the future of the three boys, the twins aged 9 and the younger sibling aged 6, has become uncertain after the death of their mother.

Tirunelveli Collector V Vishnu, when contacted, said revenue officials along with District Child Protection Officer reached out to the victims living in a small tiled house at Munanjipatti and offered grocery items and other essentials as an immediate relief. “The district administration has a system in place to accommodate the children of COVID victims, but in this case, their grandmother, Annapushpam (53), has agreed to take care of the three boys. Three government approved child care centres have been made operational to accommodate children of COVID victims,” Vishnu said. Further he added that the officials were ready to provide old age pension to the grandmother.

Nanguneri Tahsildar G Esakipandi said that Annapushpam (53) was reluctant to send her grandsons to a care home. As per norms, each of the boys could be provided with a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 for a period of three years and educational assistance could also be delivered with the aid of volunteers as suggested by the District Child Protection Unit until they attain the age of 18.

On Monday, 25 kg of grocery items, including rice, dhal, oil and sugar were given to the family at the village, the Tahsildar said.

Meanwhile, a kind hearted person from Vijayanarayanam offered Rs 10,000 to the bereaved family after reading a heartrending text message on social media about the pathetic condition of the victim’s sons, sources said.