In a significant move, the Jajpur district administration on Sunday announced to adopt the newborn girl child, who had been on Saturday found buried alive purportedly by her unidentified parents soon after her birth in a manure pit and later rescued by villagers.
“The baby girl will be brought up by the district administration,” said Jajpur Collector Ranjan Kumar Das in the presence of Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das.
The girl has been affectionately named as Dharitri by the local Shyamasundarpur villagers for being retrieved from under the earth.
As per Odia tradition, the district administration has decided to celebrate the Ekoisia ritual (a special puja performed on the 21st day of a baby’s birth) at the famous Biraja Temple at Jajpur on April 14.
The girl is now recuperating at the District Headquarters Hospital here. The Collector visited the hospital to inquire about the baby’s health. The infant’s condition is stated to be stable. Minister Das said the State Government would extend all necessary assistance to the child for her safe and secure future. It may be recalled that Shyamasundarpur villagers on Saturday heard the baby’s shrill coming from the manure dump yard. The infant’s cries prompted the curious villagers to go to the spot, where they found her buried with only her legs visible.
The locals dug the earth to find the baby buried upside down with a piece of cloth wrapped around her body. The infant was first rushed to the nearby Community Health Centre (CHC) and later admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital.