A baby abandoned in a stormwater drain was rescued by a resident in Valasaravakkam in the early hours on Wednesday.
The boy has been kept in an incubator at the Institute of Child Health in Egmore.
When a milkman was delivering supplies in the morning on 6th Main Road in SVS Nagar, he heard faint cries of the baby. He found the cries emanating from the stormwater drain. He informed Geetha, a resident, who came out and pulled the infant out and removed the umbilical cord around his neck. A video of Ms. Geetha rescuing the infant has gone viral on social media.
Later, Ms. Geetha informed the police.
U. Muthuraja, law and order inspector of Valsaravakkam police station, along with sub-inspectors Theerthagiri and Munusamy and head constables Venkatappan rushed to the spot.
“The boy had dirt all over the body and the umbilical cord was intact,” the inspector said. The boy was first taken to the urban health centre at Chinna Porur, from where he was shifted to the Institute of Child Health in Egmore. According to the doctors, the boy is still in the incubator. Police suspect the child was born around 6 a.m in a house.
“It does not appear to be a birth in a hospital. We are carrying out an investigation. We will be taking strict action against the parents once we find them,” he said.
Ms. Geetha said no one was willing to help the child. “I took the child out and clipped the umbilical chord around its neck.”
She said that she named him Swathanthiram. “I want him to be independent,” she added.
However, when Ms. Geetha went to meet the child at the hospital, she was denied permission. “I just want the baby to be alright,” she said.
‘Want to adopt baby’
Ms. Geetha added the she would love to adopt the infant. “If the officials help with the procedure to adopt the child, I will be grateful,” she added.
Officials from the Social Welfare Department said the parents should utilise the cradle scheme of the State government, instead of abandoning babies. “We will take care of the child and send it to a recognised home,” said an official.