Two newborns, who were abandoned by their parents — perhaps for the ‘crime’ of being born as girls — were rescued by kind-hearted people and a traditional cradle ceremony was held for both here on Wednesday.
In the first instance, a newborn girl was found abandoned within hours of her birth in a colony at Domadugu in Gummadidala mandal on July 13.
On being informed by locals, mandal parishad territorial constituency (MPTC) member Govardhan Goud immediately alerted Anganwadi worker Appamma and Aasha worker Vijaya Lakshmi who rushed to the spot. Ch. Udaya Kumar, founder of Mythri Foundation, an NGO, arranged an ambulance to shift the girl to the government hospital at Sangareddy, where she was given due care by Dr. Ashok and Dr. Chakrapani. Her parents have not been traced so far.
About a month before that, on June 6, another infant aged about about two months, was found at Lakdaram gate.
Her parents, habitual drinkers, were not interested in taking care of her and so had abandoned her. By the time she was found, a nerve at the neck was bitten and damaged by ants.
In addition, she had severe pneumonia and doctors had little hopes about her survival. She was admitted at Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad where she underwent treatment for about two months. Staff from Shishu Gruha took care of her in turns at the hospital.
“Nalini (as the baby was called) was suffering from very severe pneumonia due to aspiration of milk. The wounds around her neck were due to ant bites,” said Dr. Chakrapani, who treated the baby.
The survival of both the girls despite all odds was celebrated with a cradle ceremony on the premises of Mahila Pranganam which was attended by District Revenue Officer Radhika Ramani, Welfare Officer Padmavathi, Excise Officer Gayatri Devi, District Jail Superintendent Shiva Kumar Goud, Dr. Shankar Babu, DRDO Ch. Srinivas Rao among others.
Permanent cradle
Principal of Government College at Narayanakhed, Krishna Kumar, who represents ‘Save the Girl Child’ organisation assured that they will take care of girl children and as part of that, a permanent cradle will be established in front of Mahila Pranganam.
“Do not kill the girl child. Leave them at our cradle and we will take care of them. They will be in safe hands,” Mr Krishna Kumar urged.