Hapless parents hand over baby girl to child care unit in Bolangir to migrate outside state in search of work

Bolangir district, which is already infamous for migration issues, had recently hit the headlines again for another wrong reason when parents allegedly sold their newborn baby girl. Though the baby was rescued by the administration, the parents were forced to hand over the two-month-old baby to a childcare unit in a bid to migrate to another state as migrant workers due to sheer poverty.

As per reports, Amrut Nag and his wife Arunabati Nag, who are residents of Sangurjibhata village in the district, were forced to sell their newborn baby girl due to their poor financial condition. Subsequently, there was huge uproar in the State after which Deputy Chief Minister Kanaka Bardhan Singh Deo visited the ground zero and ordered an investigation into the incident.

Following the intervention by the district administration, the child was eventually rescued from a private hospital in Raipur and three persons were arrested in connection with the incident. Bolangir police also detained Amrut Nag during the investigation.

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However, the hapless parents were reportedly unable to take care of their sixth child and eventually handed over the baby girl to Sishu Mangala Samiti in Bolangir in a bid to migrate to another state to work as migrant workers to earn their living. 

“Though we have two acres of land, it is not enough to earn a living for our huge family. We were forced to hand over the baby to the child care unit as we will migrate to another state to work as migrant workers to make our ends meet,” said Arunabati, mother of the baby girl.

Meanwhile, the residents of Sangurjibhata village have banished Amrut Nag’s family from their caste by thinking that he was sent to jail in connection with the sale of the baby girl.

“I will request the police to give me a written statement that I was not sent to jail. It would help me to be accepted by the villagers again. Then I will migrate to another state as a migrant worker,” said Amrut, father of the baby girl.

Now, questions have been raised on why the administration is still silent and not taking any steps to alleviate the acute poverty of the people in Bolangir which is forcing them to migrate to other states as migrant workers to earn their livelihood.

“They handed over the baby girl to us by saying that they are not able to take care of her,” said S Latashree, a member of Sishu Mangala Samiti in Bolangir.

However, no reaction could be obtained from the district administration in this regard.