Yet another newborn was injured by branding of his abdomen in Tentulikhunti block of Nabarangpur district on Friday.
The 45-day-old boy was admitted in the Nabarangpur district hospital in a serious condition.
According to sources, Gitanjali Harijan and Junesh Harijan of Khuntiaguda village of Tentulikhunti block got their child branded when the baby developed some stomach and breathing problems. The parents approached a traditional tribal healer (Desari), who branded the child’s abdomen. The incident has happened even after the ‘Jyoti’ campaign initiated by the district administration to fight superstitions like such branding. Awareness drives are undertaken in all 169 gram panchayats in the district with 4,400 traditional healers, Anganwadi and ASHA Workers, Panchayati Raj functionaries and local youths. Notably, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had awarded a cash prize of Rs15 lakh to Nabarangpur Collector Rashmita Panda for the district’s performance in fighting superstition.