Recent instances of people abandoning newborns in surrounding forest areas have prompted the District Child Protection unit to set up a cradle near the Government Botanical Gardens near here.
Parents unable to raise children can leave them here, and they will be taken to government homes. This is part of the cradle baby scheme that former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa launched during the early 1990s.
The Nilgiris District Administration said the move was necessitated due to recent instances, when a few newborn babies were found abandoned along the sides of the road and as well as in surrounding forest areas.
To ensure that the infants were looked after, the district administration announced that a cradle had been installed near the Government Botanical Garden, where babies, who can’t be raised by their parents, could be left behind.
Parents could deposit the infants in the cradle without encountering any legal issues.
The roof over the cradle has relevant information pertaining to how to contact the Child Protection Unit, with the address of the office as well as the phone number clearly displayed. The parents have been urged to contact the unit or the district police or the ChildLine helpline after dropping off their newborn in the cradle, so that a team could be dispatched to rescue the child.
The district administration urged people to not abandon their children on the roads and surrounding forests.
