Authorities on Wednesday established a help desk at Lal Ded hospital here to ensure care of abandoned children.
“In the wake of increase in abandoning of children, the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) department under the guidance of chairman Selection-Cum-Oversight Committee (SCOC), Justice Hasnain Masoodi have come up with a first-of-its-kind round-the-clock help desk in the premier maternity hospital of Kashmir,” said mission director ICPS , G A Sofi.
“The helpline desk would be the lifeline for abandoned, unwanted babies who usually end up in insecure, unprotected and shelter less places .This is a great opportunity to reclaim these unfortunate and under privileged babies and rehabilitate them into our society as soon as possible,” Sofi said.
He appealed civil society, professionals, health department, education department, police and all other strata of society to come forward and help create a bridge between abandoned babies and genuine guardians for rehabilitation of these children. “We have set up district wise child care institutions at government and non- government level to facilitate these children. ICPS would institutionalise essential service and strengthen structures in order to provide community level protection and all round development,” he said.
The mission director said that credit for establishing the helpline goes to assistant director ICPS, Dr Syed Farhana Asgar and administrative officer Dr Muhammad Hussain. “Under ICPS, we will also provide sponsorship to children in need. The department has set up a child protection management system to formulate and implement effective intervention strategies and monitor their outcomes,” he said.
As reported by Greater Kashmir, last year an abandoned baby, who was thrown at backside of the Lal Ded hospital, was mauled by dogs. He had to undergor surgery for his wounded back. 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.
In GB Pant hospital, two abandoned children, who were later named Salman and Burhan, were brought to hospital when they were some days old. Both had neurological problem. Salman was found on the stairs of Makhdoom sahib and Burhan was brought to hospital by two men, who later fled from hospital. The babies stayed in the hospital for over a year and were later adopted by Jamia Rowzat-ul-Muminaat – a seminary for women at Naqashpora, Babarshah.
Deputy medical superintendent, Lal Ded Hospital, Dr Fara Shafi said, “we have provided the ICPS department a place in the hospital where they have established this help desk and kept their staff. It is a relief for us because the hospital would keep on receiving abandoned babies and we had to keep them in neo- natal intensive care unit (NICU). With setting up of this help desk, the abandoned babies will now be properly rehabilitated.”
Recently, a newborn baby was found dead in a cardboard box here at Children Park near Lal Ded hospital. In January this year a man from south Kashmir’s Shopian district was arrested by police after he found trying to abandon his newborn baby in Nowhatta area of Srinagar.