The increasing number of babies left as unwanted by the parents in the sole maternity hospital of the valley over the last four years has reflected a horrifying trend. With over 71 unwanted babies being located and taken care of by two government-run hospitals in this capital city during the last 10 years this trend is ever growing and has set alarm bells ringing in the valley. Many see this as a wake-up call for the safety and security of many of these unwanted babies.
In a response to the Right to Information (RTI) application moved by a Srinagar-based lawyer the data which spans from August 2021 to November 2023. The trend includes horrifying details like parents abandoning their babies near garbage dumps, water bodies, and other disposal sites in the vicinity of two hospitals – Lalla Ded and GB Panth, which is now the government hospital for children in Srinagar. Majority of the affected infants who are kind of discarded by heartless parents are female or children with down syndrome. The data further reveals that LD hospital reported 52 cases of abandoned babies from 2011 to 2023. Out of these, 45 babies were adopted, while 7 tragically did not survive. At the Government Children’s Hospital in Srinagar, authorities have provided care and supported 29 unwanted infants till now.
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These details are horrifying. The government must install more cameras at a lot of these sites so that the perpetrators can be identified easily and put behind the bars. Within the hospital itself there must be stricter surveillance and stricter cross-checking of credentials of patients and attendants at the maternity hospital. The police presence in the hospital premises must be increased which could effectively act as a deterrent. The government must spring to action in case of babies born with Down’s syndrome and female babies with any health condition – a stricter follow up on the well-being of the baby needs to be maintained. The government would be well advised to run a campaign on television, radio and newspapers to threaten strictest legal action against any parent who indulges in this unpardonable crime.
Throwing away or dumping of an infant baby is an unpardonable crime. The perpetrators of this crime must be identified and strictest possible punishment meted out to them. We are hopeful that under the able leadership of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha the UT administration will come up with a resolute framework to tackle this problem. Let our babies live a long and healthy life.
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