Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Aug 8: Despite schemes like ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padao’ (save girl, educate girl) the spectre of abandonment keeps haunting the girl child like Eman, a girl abandoned by her parents at Srinagar’s GB Pant Hospital since July 11, this year. So far, the baby hasn’t been claimed by anyone nor anyone is ready to adopt her.
The Centre might have launched various schemes to improve survival, protection and empowerment of girl child but Eman’s case suggest that it had not been able to change the mindset of people wherein a girl is considered the liability on the society.
On 11th of July, when the unrest had just knocked at the doors of Kashmir, Eman was admitted to GB Pant’s Neonatal Intensive care unit for respiratory distress by her father and aunt. However, just before the crack of dawn the duo vanished in the dark and abandoned her forever at the ward number 8 of Kashmir’s only children’s hospital at Sonawar.
As per hospital records, a female baby was admitted to the hospital as a case of pre-term RDS, by a male attendant Zubair Ahmad, a resident of Thanamandi Rajouri. “The patient was treated and shifted to ward-8 at 2 pm the same day. The sister in charge of ward-8 informed that the attendants of the baby were absconding from 6 pm on the same day.
“Despite repeated announcement through the public address system, the attendants didn’t turn up. The parents were tried to call but they either dropped the phone or did not attend the call,” the record reads.
Medical Superintendent of GB Pant, Dr K K Pandita, while expressing concern over the ‘unwanted girl child’, said it seems a clear case of abandonment wherein the parents were not willing to take her home.
“It is very unfortunate and highlights the ugly face of our society. Frankly, speaking we don’t know what to do with such kids. We cannot keep them here for their entire life. We are now thinking to approach adoption centres or some NGOs and last month a Pune based NGO showed interest in the kid but then the whole situation changed in Kashmir,” he said.
When asked about the reasons of not giving the child to the interested childless parents, he said: “There is a legal process which they need to follow before claiming the custody of the child and the whole process is stalled due to in action from the police. On July 12, the police station Ram Munshi Bagh was informed about the baby but the report is still awaited as the police is busy is controlling the civil unrest in Kashmir,” said the Medical Superintendent.
Dr Rehana, who takes care of the baby girls, said the girl is completely normal with no signs of illness. “She sleeps well and drinks milk well,” she said. At Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre, a team of three young nurses including Mehnaz, Nighat and Suraya are working diligently to feed and clean the abandoned baby girl.
“Being a girl myself it kills me to see an innocent soul like her without the bosom of her mother. She needs the warmth of her mother. We do what we can like feed her, clean her and take care of her during the night hours. But I don’t think we can fill the place of her mother. How can anyone hate this pious soul”, said Suraya, a nurse.
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