BANGALORE: They are being abandoned everywhere garbage bins, temples, parks, hospitals. Bangalore watches as an increasing number of babies, only five per cent of whom survive, are being discarded like garbage. Many NGOs along with the government- run Makkala sahayavani are working towards their rescue, but the number of abandoned children is on an all-time increase, says Ramaswamy, coordinator of BOSCO.
On Monday, a week-old baby was found abandoned in the Siddaiah Reference Hospital, on JC Road where the parents had abandoned the baby girl and fled from the hospital.
The parents had given their names as Hussain and Salma, and had provided a fake address. The baby was later rescued and taken to BOSCO home. On the same day, a two-day-old baby boy was found abandoned in a garbage bin, opposite a government Maternity Hospital on Magadi road, at KP Agrahara.
When a hospital ayah went to dump the hospital garbage, she found the baby. The baby was attended to at the hospital and later taken to the Shishu Mandira in Madiwala.
“There could be many reasons for the abandoning of the child, but most importantly, it is the man who should be held responsible for this. It’s because of his irresponsibility that he either rejects the woman and the child or due to his inefficiency that he can’t provide for the child,” said Vasudev Sharma, Director of Child Welfare Committee. Last year alone, about 1,186 children(between 0 and 18 years of age) were abandoned at the KSRTC busstop. But, the number of parents returning to claim their child is negligible.
Sharma added, “It’s unfortunate that not many parents are aware that the real parents have rights over the child for two months after abandoning the child. They can return any time, within two months return and claim their abandoned child. Even after finding the child, no NGO is eligible to let off the child for adoption till three months.” Two years back, the number of newborns being abandoned was as low as three a year, while in the past one month itself eight newborns were found abandoned. Many of the babies die at the place they have been abandoned itself. The harsh weather kills some, while stray animals and insects take the lives of others. Experts say that though there are quite a few single parent celebrities, the society has not yet accepted single parents.
rakshita@epmltd.com