KNZ NEWS DESK
Srinagar, March 3 : In a shocking incident, a woman and her family abandoned newborn daughter at Lal Ded hospital hours after she was born, officials told Srinagar-based news agency GNS on Saturday. Appallingly, in last 25 days, as many as five baby girls have been abandoned at the hospital, named after Kashmir poetess, arguably one of the powerful symbols of Kashmir’s civilizational ethos.
Among the abandoned girls, include two twins whose parents left them a couple of weeks ago, hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Shabir Sidique said.
“Five baby girls including twins were abandoned in last 25 days. Yesterday, a baby girl was abandoned. The families leave hospital on one or other pretext,” he told GNS.
He added: “It should not happen. We have already taken CCTV footage and have filed FIR in all four incidents (incidents being four because one case involves twins)”.
At the same time, there is some silver line also. Three of the abandoned babies have been already adopted by issueless couples.
“There is a positive sign also that some people come forward. Three out of the five babies have been already adopted after completing legal formalities. The adoption process goes through the courts,” he added. The hospital does not cater to Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, but entire Valley. It is the only exclusive maternity hospital in entire Kashmir. The abandoned girls are being taken care by the hospital.
In recent past, the Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim majority state, has seen disturbing trends when it comes to fairer gender. The latest census indicated an alarming level of female foeticide in the state as a drastic decrease of 79 females per thousand of children was noticed in the basic age group of 0 to 6 years. In each unit of 2,000 children, there were 941 females and 1059 males in 2001. The ratio has been found to have fallen to 862 females: 1138 males in 2011.
The phenomenal decline has brought J&K down to the bottom of the list among all Indian States with just Haryana and Punjab behind it. The fall was not restricted to isolated places but all the 22 districts have witnessed a decrease in the number of female children. South Kashmir’s Pulwama topped the list with the loss of 217 female children per thousand. Central Kashmir’s Budgam follows with the significant fall of 172. While as Pulwama (829) and Budgam (832) have fared as the worst, these two districts were in contrast on the ladder of the best performing districts with 1046 and 1004 respectively in 2001.
Census details say seven out of ten districts in Kashmir have lost more than a hundred females every thousand. (GNS)
