Nayagarh/Ranpur: The massive awareness drive against female foeticide in Nayagarh district seems to have failed as a newborn girl child was found dumped near a veterinary hospital at Godipatna Sahi under Ranpur NAC Thursday.
The baby, after being rescued by a passerby, was admitted to the ICU of the district headquarters hospital as she was suffering from extreme cold.
Several cases of female foeticide had brought disrepute to the district in 2008. Following this, sensitization programmes were launched to prevent such incidents.
According reports, a villager of Godipatna Sahi heard the cry of a baby near the veterinary hospital. The man found a newborn girl wrapped in a piece of cloth in a bag when he approached the spot. He immediately informed the police station, following which IIC Girija Shankar admitted the baby to a health centre at Ranpur with the help of a local ASHA. Later, Childline member Rutushree Mohanty and Rudra Narayan Mishra reached the health centre and shifted the baby to the DHH.
The two-day-old baby was suffering from cold after lying under open sky whole night, hence, given ICU support, it was learnt. While police began a probe into the incident, district child welfare committee (CWC) president Ranjubala Nanda visited the hospital and inquired about the baby’s condition.
The baby would be kept at Special Adoption Agency after being produced before the CWC, Childline member Rutushree said. PNN
