Newborn girls left in panghura

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 18

Two newborn baby girls, both twins, were found in the cradle on a cold Wednesday night in the cradle at Bathinda. However, the infants were left by their guardians wrapped in a single cloth. Sources said the duo was left round 7:30 pm in the evening.

Earlier, on December 9, a newborn boy was found in the Red Cross Society’s panghura – the cradle at the Mahant Gurbanta Dass School for Deaf and Dumb Children — and was operated upon today as the child did not have anus, by birth, to pass stool.

Since its inception in 2009, the cradle has received 30 babies, including 24 girls and six boys. In December itself, about four infants, including three girls, have been left in the cradle by their parents.

Aimed to save the girl children so that they could be brought up in a safe and healthy environment and provided education, the cradle also saved the guardians the embarrassment of facing unsavoury questions.

Under the scheme, any person can leave an infant in the cradle and ring the bell so that the attendant comes out to receive the child. The identity of the parents or the single mother is not asked and the new arrival is taken to the nearest hospital for medical examination and provided the required feed and medical aid. The infant, however, is later sent to the licensed adoption placement agencies in the state from where it can be adopted.

Satish Jindal, a paediatrician, said, “The infants, who are in good health, were kept under observation and handed over to the District Red Cross Society.”