A Shiv Sena corporator in the party-ruled Thane Municipal Corporation has suggested that the civic body adopt children who lost one or both parents due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a letter to Thane Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde, Ashok Vaity, who is the leader of house in the TMC, said as per a survey conducted by the civic body, 203 children here in Maharashtra lost one parent, while eight children lost both the parents.

The numbers may rise in the coming days, he said, noting that in certain cases, guardians of such children have also died of Covid-19. The lives of all such children need to be safeguarded. Hence, the civic body should adopt them, considering it as a special case, Vaity said in his letter written to the minister on Sunday.