Families of teachers, who died of Covid on UP panchayat poll duty, await financial aid from govt

Teachers unions in UP claim over 1,600 educators on panchayat poll duty succumbed to Covid-19. Many families who lost a loved one are still waiting for the promised financial aid from the state government.

The Uttar Pradesh government had announced ex gratia for the kin of government employees who lost their lives during the Panchayat elections held amidst the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers unions in the state claim over 1,600 educators on poll duty succumbed to the infection, though the government pegs the figure as substantially lower. Now, months after the fact, many families who lost a loved one are still waiting for financial aid from the state. Red tape and bureaucracy have thwarted 74-year-old Raghuram Kumar, who lost his son Santosh Kumar (37) to Covid-19 around five months ago. An assistant teacher at a primary school in Malihabad, Santosh Kumar was on duty as a field officer in the first round of voting in the UP Panchayat polls. When he returned home, he tested positive for Covid-19; seven days later, Santosh Kumar died due to lack of oxygen on April 26.