A newborn girl was found in an abandoned state near a temple at Chandipur village under the Nikirei police limits in Kendrapada district on Thursday.
One Saraswati Sethi spotted and rescued the baby, following which the infant was taken to a nearby hospital and later shifted to the Kendrapada District Headquarters Hospital.
“I saw the baby when I was plucking flowers early this morning. Worms and ants were all over her body. We immediately took her to the nearest hospital,” the woman said.
“The condition of the infant was critical when she was brought to the hospital. Oxygen and saline were administered to the baby,” said Dr Santosh Kumar Swain of the hospital.
The newborn was in an unconscious state till last reports came in. Doctors referred her to the Sishu Bhawan in Cuttack for better treatment.