Nine babies abandoned in Hyderabad since lockdown began

HYDERABAD: The two-month-long lockdown has pushed thousands of poor families into extreme poverty. And standing testimony to this are records of the Telangana women’s child and welfare department that throw up a heart-wrenching trend: as many as 33 infants, all of them below the age of six, were abandoned in Telangana between January and May of which nine were given up by their families in Hyderabad — all of them during the lockdown. Of the 33, 25 are girls.
This unfortunate trend, officials say, is rooted in the mounting financial woes of poor families that lost jobs and savings during the last two months. “The lockdown has affected several poor families who are struggling to feed their children. Some of the abandoned children were found malnourished and underweight,” said a source from the department. All nine children are at state-run Shishu Gruha in the city, the official added.
“There are 11 state-run Shishu Gruhas across the state. Hyderabad’s Shishu Gruha has the highest number of such babies. Some centres have less than five, including infants,” said M Sharada, child development project officer from the department. “The families who have surrendered their children are mostly from the poorest of the poor, who have more than two children already and do not have enough income to feed them all,” the officer said.
This year, in May alone, two instances were reported in which families tried to sell their babies. In the recent incident in Jeedimetla, a couple attempted to sell their two-month-old baby boy for Rs 22,000. According to officials, districts likes such as Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar have a high number of girls being abandoned.