The Hindu : A battle against odds to save their baby

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 06, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

A battle against odds to save their baby

By G.V. Ramana Rao

VIJAYAWADA JUNE 5. It is a race against time for Sivalanka Ranga, eking out a living as a manual labourer. His eight-month-old son, Venkata Naga Karthik, is suffering from `congenital cyanotic heart disease'. The child is being treated with drugs, but that is not sufficient to keep him alive. A major heart surgery is required to save the boy's life. It is torturous for the boy's parents to see their child writhing in pain. Whenever he gasps for breath, the parents miss a heartbeat. Each day is filled with new problems.

Medical treatment is free for people below the poverty line in Government hospitals, but Ranga does not have the white ration card that makes him eligible for it. The trials and tribulations of availing himself of the facility seem to be many. A friend recently told him that medical treatment was given free of cost to persons whose names were listed in the `Antyodaya anna yojana' cards given to senior citizens. Ranga's father has such a card, but the name of the child, Karthik, is not listed in it. Another friend told him that a birth certificate issued by the municipal corporation, submitted along with the senior citizen's rice quota card, would suffice for the purpose.

Unfortunately for the child, the date of birth (November 27, 2002) was not registered in the municipal corporation records. In such circumstances birth certificates are issued only after verification by revenue staff. It usually takes over two weeks for the process to be completed. But the doctors told the parents that the child did not have that much time. An operation has to be done at either SVIMS in Tirupati or NIMS in Hyderabad within a week. A day was wasted in finding out ways to get the birth certificate. The birth certificate became an insurmountable barrier for Ranga and the sick child, Karthik. With the help of another friend, Ranga directly approached the Vijayawada Urban MRO, Nataraj, and pleaded with him for help. Mr Nataraj, acting quickly cut through the red tape, and gave instructions to the municipal staff to issue the birth certificate immediately, pending verification. The Municipal Commissioner, Praveen Prakash, who was informed about the case, also gave instructions to the personnel in the Civic Services Centre. The staff processed the available documents and issued the birth certificate in a record time of 30 minutes.

Since the baby's birth it has been a real struggle for Ranga and his wife. After many visits to doctors and hospitals it was established that the child needed surgery in a super speciality hospital. They knew that they could not afford the operation for their child. Their hopes were rekindled when they heard that heart operations were done free of cost for the poor at Puttaparthi. At Puttaparthi also it was confirmed that surgery was required. The hospital said the date would be intimated to them by mail. This plunged Ranga and his wife into depression again.

Now that the birth certificate has been issued, Ranga can go ahead with the operation either at SVIMS or NIMS.

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