79 infants died in Shishugruhas in Telangana in 4.5 years

HYDERABAD: Newborn babies are dying in state-run homes with 79 infant deaths reported in four-and-half years, worrying authorities with 63 of them turning out to be girls at a time when the government is being questioned for a skewed sex ratio.
While officials admit that the crib deaths at shishugruhas largely happen when unwanted babies are thrown in dustbins or abandoned near homes by lactating mothers, who refuse to breastfeed them, Union ministry of women and child development statistics revealed that Telangana was among seven states having the highest death rate of children at state-run homes after Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh.Bihar, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The findings came weeks after a huge decline in sex ratio at birth (SRB) was reported in Telangana between 2013 and 2016. Sex ratio saw a marked decline from 954 girls per 1000 boys in 2013 to 881 in 2016.
While authorities say uncontrolled sex determination tests and illegal abortions were the main reasons behind the sharp downward turn in birth of girl children, officials are at a loss to explain how 32 kids died in Hyderabad’s shishugruha, followed by 18 deaths in Nalgonda and 17 in Mahbubnagar over the past four years.
Authorities say that unlike tribal hamlets in Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar, where a girl child is killed or abandoned, Hyderabad is witnessing a rise in unmarried young women giving away children born out of wedlock.
Statistics available with the state women and child welfare department revealed that between March and December 2018, 14 babies were abandoned in dustbins or on the streets.
In 2017-18, 26 babies, including 16 girls, were abandoned, while 17 infants, including 12 girls, were surrendered in Hyderabad. Similarly in 2016-17, 56 babies, including 36 girls, were abandoned in Hyderabad and taken to the shishugruha. In 2017-18, out of 83 abandoned babies in Nalgonda, 81 of them happened to be girls.
All the girls were surrendered to the staff or the babies silently placed in the cradle in front of shishugruha. In some cases, they were found in garbage bins on the roadside, bitten by rats.
While officials say that mothers refuse to feed the baby or they were prematurely born, child rights activists allege that negligence in healthcare and lactose intolerance, were the reasons behind newborns dying in shishugruha.
Sale rampant in tribal hamlets
Dr V Rukmini Rao of Gramya Resource Centre for Women told TOI, “When a third or fourth girl is born in the family, mothers get depressed and they are forced by the family to give away the baby. We have rescued 75 girl children when they were being sold in Nalgonda and are filing police cases. Our approach is that the child belongs to parents and due to poverty they are either selling, killing or abandoning the babies.”
Sale and abandoning of children is still rampant in tribal hamlets of Devarakonda, Chandampet, and Miryalaguda and Chintapalli of Nalgonda. In Nalgonda, there were allegations that 10 to 12 babies died in a short time in 2018 due to Lactogen intolerance. “At institutions and child homes, it is difficult to give motherly care to every child,” she said.
Telangana women development and child welfare department’s Viziendira Boyi explained that these newborns reach shishugruha with health problems and probably not breastfed by mothers, due to which they lack colostrum. “If mothers breastfeed their babies, they develop a bond and is difficult for them to abandon the kids. Some babies have hereditary health issues. By the time they reach us, the child’s health condition is critical. In fact, we saved many lives,” Boyi said.
In one instance reported from Suryapet, a baby was found in the garbage bin and bitten by rats. “She was initially shifted to Khammam hospital and then to Hyderabad. With a lot of care, the baby survived,” she said, adding that low birth weight and lack of immunity makes them susceptible to infections.
“We have stepped up surveillance on sale of kids in the area. The staff at Sishu Vihar handle at least 200 kids from infants to six-year-old and there is no dereliction of duties,” she added.