THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Ammathottil, ensuring the care and protection of abandoned babies, will soon go hi-tech. The facility will include sensor doors that open only when human presence is recognised, hi-tech cameras and new voice-overs with additional features narrating the birthrights of children.
According to officials, the camera will be placed in such a manner that it will not reveal the identity of the person who abandons the child at the cradle. "The application is developed by the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises Limited (KSIE). The images from the camera will be used for adding information to the database of the council and will help in determining the weight and gender of the child," said Deepak S P, general secretary, Kerala State Council for Child Welfare.
The new voice-over is aimed at apprising mothers about leaving their babies in the cradle and even issuing a last-minute reminder of their responsibility as a parent. The second part of the voice-over assures the Council's care for the children in the future. Once the Ammathottil door closes, alerts will be sent to the officials with the council including state secretary, standing committee members, officer-in-charge, district collector, child welfare committee chairman and police authorities. The alerts will only stop once the child is attended to. The facility will also have an inverter in case of power failures. Additional facilities will be provided in the absence of Wifi.
More display boards will be set up in the Ammathottil premises creating awareness on the services of the facility. According to officials, the KSIE has signed an agreement for 10 years for the maintenance of the new Ammathottil. "If any error crops up, they will rectify the system failures within 15 days for 10 years," said Deepak.
In the future, the Council plans to relocate Ammathottils across the state from populated areas to less crowded places. Officials said Ammathottils in Alappuzha, Malappuram and Kasaragod districts are under consideration for relocation.
"Ammathottils in Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram and Kollam also have adoption centre facilities. The Ammathottils in Kozhikode, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kasaragod, Palakkad, Kannur and Ernakulam will also receive adoption centre facilities by the end of January. The rest of the Ammathottils will receive the sanction for adopting children by the month of March," said Deepak.
According to officials, the new high-tech Ammathottil in the city will be inaugurated in the month of January by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Ammathottils in Kannur, Kasaragod, Ernakulam districts will be upgraded by February," officials said.
There are 14 Ammathottils working in 13 districts of the state. The works of Ammathottil in Kozhikode district is under progress.
Twins at Ammathottil
"Twins Gurudevan and Padmanabhan were the latest additions to the Ammathottil in the city. The children were found in the cradle at 1.15 pm on Thursday. They are in good health. The babies were about 15 days old. The centre is receiving twins for the second time after it's the establishment in 2002," said P Sasidharan, Programme Officer, Kerala State Council for Child Welfare.