Odisha: After losing parents, 7-year-old tends to newborn brother

BALASORE: Life could not have been more cruel to Krishna. She is just seven, has lost both her parents within a month and now must tend to her two-month old brother. Till early April, her life looked a lot different as she spent time with her parents and continued with her online studies in Cuttack. Little did she know it would turn upside down in no time. Krishna’s mother Smita Panda worked as a staff nurse at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre in Cuttack, while father, Kamalesh Panda, was an employee at the East Coast Railways in Bhubaneswar. 

On April 9, Smita, then nine month pregnant, tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted to a private hospital in Cuttack where she delivered a baby boy seven days into her treatment. Though the newborn tested negative, Smita succumbed to the virus seven days later, on May 2. A grieving Kamlesh returned to his native village Nimathpur in Balasore’s Bhograi block with his children after death of his wife but tested positive for Covid a week later. 

He was admitted to the Railway Covid Hospital in Bhubaneswar and later shifted to a private facility after his condition deteriorated. Kamlesh lost his battle 15 days into the treatment on June 9. After losing both her parents, Krishna and her newborn brother went into the care of her uncle Debasis. However, a daily wager, Debasis finds it difficult to manage his family and seeks help. “I appeal to the district administration to extend support for upbringing of the two children and give them a safe and secure future,” he said.