A sombre mood pervaded the room where Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held 11-month-old Neetika, who lost her parents to a cloudburst in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.
A photograph of the prime minister holding the infant in Kangra made rounds on social media.
PM Modi touched the cheeks of the child and offered her toffees.
On June 30, after a cloudburst in Talwara village of Parwara panchayat, 31-year-old Ramesh Kumar, Neetika's father, went out to stop water from entering his house and went missing. He was later found buried under debris.
His wife Radha Devi, 24, and mother Purnu Devi, 59, who went out in search of him, also never returned.
A neighbour, Prem Singh, spotted the infant crying and took her with him. He then informed Ramesh's cousin, Balwant, who took her under his care then.
The PM was visibly moved when he was told about the fate of the little one.
Balwant said that Kirna Devi, Neetika's aunt, is raising her in her village as it has a good atmosphere for education and an offer of joining Sainik School after in class 6.
Earlier, the administration opened a bank account in Neetika's name for people to send in money for her welfare.
The Himachal Pradesh government has declared Neetika as a Child of the State and vowed to take full responsibility for her upbringing, education, and career.
"Whatever this girl wants to become in the future doctor, engineer, and officer or wish to go any field, the government will bear all her expenses," Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi had earlier said.
Balwant said Ramesh had also lost his father when he was just six months old. Ramesh earned little as a farmer, and his family depended mostly on Purnu's Devi salary, who was a peon in a government school and was due for retirement in seven months.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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