Bhadrak: It was a three-year ordeal for an Odisha boy with no name or family to become Subham and finally Sai Vijayanath.
The eight-year-old was found at an Odisha railway station sitting by a transgender person with no clue to his identity, family or hometown. Three years later, he has found a loving home with a Goa-based couple who adopted him.
The boy was rescued from Bhadrak railway station in 2023. Neither the transgender person nor the boy could provide any information about who he was or where he came from, said Subrata Das, social-cum-legal officer of the local District Child Protection Unit.
The name Subham itself was given by the Child Welfare Committee, which placed him at the Mahapurush Ashram in Kanjiapal along with 25 orphaned children.
But the authorities did not abdicate responsibility after that.
Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee in Bhadrak, Subrata Biswal, said the district administration made concerted efforts to trace the child’s parents, publishing advertisements in newspapers and on social media platforms.
But nothing bore any result, paving the way for his adoption.
M K Vijayanath and Geetha Vijayanath of Goa were chosen as the most prospective parents, and the Child Welfare Committee carried out a thorough background check following Central Adoption Resource Authority guidelines.
As part of the pre-adoption foster care process, Subham spent 15 days with the couple, following which all legal formalities were completed.
The child and the adoptive parents then appeared before Bhadrak District Magistrate Dillip Routray for a final hearing. Following his approval, Subham got new parents in the Vijayanaths, who rechristened him Sai Vijayanath.
The adoption ceremony was attended by Additional District Magistrate Saroj Dutta, Child Welfare Committee Chairperson Biswal, the panel members Pradipta Kar and Subas Chandra Debata, Specialised Adoption Agency official Swagatika Barik, and Social-cum-Legal Officer Subrata Das.