Four girls have been left orphaned after both their parents succumbed to Covid in a span of 11 days at Kaduthuruthy in Kerala's Kottayam district.
Kuruppanthara native Babu, 54, a headload worker died on May 2. Eleven days later, his wife Jolly, 50, also died of Covid.
The only support for the daughters is their paternal aunt, who is differently abled. Eldest daughter Chinju, 25, is studying physiotherapy, while second daughter Diya Babu is pursuing general nursing. The third daughter Anju, 18, is in plus-two, while the youngest daughter Riya, 14, is in class 9. All four were also infected with Covid. As the test results were negative, they were allowed to see the mortal remains of their mother before the funeral at a local church.
Their only assets are 10 cents of land and the house. Babu's sister Shybi earlier used to work for daily wages. Uncertainty looms over the studies and future of the four girls after their parents’ demise.
When Babu died, Jolly was at the hospital and was not informed about his death then. Later, when her illness aggravated, their kin tried to inform her about his death, but could not do so as she was unconscious.
Jolly's sister Sindhu, a native of Neendur, died after she choked on a fish bone on April 12. Distressed by this, their brother Sunil also killed himself on the same day.
