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Keonjhar/Angul: Blame it on the crumbling public health infrastructure or lack of awareness, infants in Odisha continue to be at the receiving end of superstitious practices of getting branded with hot objects.
In Keonjhar district, an eighteen day infant battled for his life but eventually succumbed to burn injuries at the hospital after he was branded with hot iron rod two days before at Pidhapokhari village.
According to reports, the kid's aunt had resorted to the practice to treat swelling around baby’s stomach on Thursday.
Also Read: Hot iron branding: 11 cases in 2 months in Keonjhar!
Sources said the infant was shifted to hospital only after an ambulance had reached the village for vaccination. It was in the same emergency vehicle that the family had shifted the infant to the hospital.
As per reports, three children have died while 15 others were hospitalised after they were branded with hot iron rods in the district in the last three months.
Elsewhere, in Angul district, a two month-old child has also suffered from burn injuries after her grandmother branded her with a hot iron sickle.
According to sources, the child failed to recover from a fever two days ago and so the family decided to try traditional healing practices, but the treatment backfired as the child's health condition deteriorated after the hot shock and was later shifted to district headquarters hospital.
On the other hand, the district administration has assured that probe will be done into the incident and people will be made aware to refrain from such deadly healing practices.
Holding on to the superstitious beliefs and practices, families in rural belts of districts like Keonjhar and Angul continue to depend on traditional healers or practices to treat several ailments of infants which have proved to be fatal more often than not.
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