Over 22 childless couples have approached the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) department for adopting abandoned children.
The development comes four days after the ICPS department setup up a help-desk at Lal Ded hospital to ensure care of abandoned children.
“In just two day, 13 people have approached us for adopting abandoned babies,” said a social worker, associated with round-the-clock help desk at LD Hospital. “We are expecting more cases because people are coming forward and registering their names with us.”
Among a long queue of people, a boy registered his sister’s name with the help desk. “My sister’s newborn died a month ago and she is not able to come to terms that she has lost her child,” he said.
Officials said the aim of setting up the help desk is to ensure that no child is abandoned on roadside. The ICPS started the round the clock facility for the people who want to handover the child to them. The department will provide health care facility, education, nutrition, shelter to the children in need of care and protection.
“As of now we have not received any baby, but people are approaching us. Receiving 13 inquiries in just two days shows the magnitude of childless couples in Kashmir,” said additional director ICPS, Dr Syed Farhana Asgar.
An official associated with ICPS department said, before starting this help desk, the ICPS department had received nine abandoned babies. ‘For those nine babies over 200 couples have approached the department,” she said.
As reported by Greater Kashmir, last year an abandoned baby, who was thrown at the backside of the LD Hospital, was mauled by dogs. He had to undergo surgery. In another incident of child abandonment, a baby girl was found on ramp of LD Hospital and another child was dropped by an attendant in its corridor. Recently, a newborn baby was found dead in a cardboard box here at Children Park near LD Hospital.
In January this year a man from south Kashmir’s Shopian district was arrested after he was caught abandoning his newborn baby at Nowhatta area in Downtown here. The ICPS department recently handedover the child to his paternal uncle.