Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Yet another baby left out in the cold

By G. V. Ramana Rao

VIJAYAWADA Oct. 27. They say coir from coconuts offered to goddess Kanakadurga cushioned the fall of the new-born baby. Only the goddess could have saved the infant thrown into a municipal corporation dustbin at the foot of Indrakeeladri, late on Saturday night. The infant survived the cold night and the few hours she was in the garbage bin an invisible guardian angel protected her from stray pigs and dogs that rummage through them for crumbs of food. These animals are known to eat anything they find. The coconut coir which cushioned the fall became a bed of nails for the delicate skin of the infant. The pricks of the coir kept it crying till a passer-by noticed her. This is just the first part of the miracle. In the second part of the miracle, the Special Branch head-constable, Joseph, saw a group of people peering into a dustbin. He heard the word `baby' and thought it was just one more body of a still-born baby, discarded. But when he stopped his scooter and went close he heard whimpering and saw that the baby was moving. He knew that it had to be rushed to a hospital immediately. Taking the help of a Childline volunteer he rushed the infant to St.Ann's Hospital. The doctors were able to revive the baby to some extent, but they are not willing to say anything for the next 48 hours as they have kept it under observation. Abandoned to die by the mother the baby was lucky to be alive still.

In another miracle of sorts, a new-born was abandoned in Gunadala on October 9. Bitten by ants the baby began to cry. People living nearby came searching in the dark with lamps to find the abandoned baby covered with red ants. They rescued her from the ants, bathed and fed her and next morning handed her her over to Childline.

Another new-born placed under a thorny bush at the Yanamalakuduru chinna bridge centre was rescued by people who heard the heart-rending sobs of the baby on August 12. A woman offered to adopt it. Childline conducted an inquiry and advised the family to legalise the adoption following due procedure.

All new-born babies have not been that lucky. A municipal worker found the body of a baby wrapped in towels and thrown into a drain on September 7 in Machavaram police station limits.

Childline city coordinator, Shalini Prabatha, said that the reasons for children being abandoned in this fashion were not known. "We are not sure about the reasons. It is assumed that these are children born out of wedlock but there is nothing to substantiate the assumptions. We will put the subject for discussion before the Childline Executive Board and take up special programmes,'' she said.

Childline which deals with all such cases has another problem. There are very few NGOs which are ready to take new-born babies into their care. In fact only one organisation, a Christian missionary, accepts new-borns into its care.

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