No home for mentally retarded mother and her child

For four months living at SMGS hospital

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Sept 10: A mentally retarded lady beggar and her newly born baby, who were found abandoned on roadside and subsequently taken to Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh (SMGS) Hospital by people four month ago, are still been lying at the Hospital as none of the Non Government Organisations (NGOs) or individual has come forward to take care of mother-son duo. Owing to public apathy, the Hospital administration is compelled to look after the both.

Though, the District Development Commissioner (DDC) Ajit Kumar Sahu is also pursuing the case to find a suitable arrangement for mother-son but nothing has yielded so far. Reliably, a Chandigarh branch of “Mother Teresa Home” has agreed to take both but still the things have not been materialized.

The duo was brought to SMGS Hospital by people when they found the mentally challenged woman lying with her just born baby on roadside near Kachi Chawni.  The baby boy was suffering from acute infection, and owing to his critical condition he was admitted in Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). His mother was also admitted in the hospital.

Talking to TNI, Medical Superintendent SMGS Hospital, Dr Dara Singh said, “The hospital administration provided every possible treatment to the baby and, now his condition is stable. For the last more than four month the child and his mother are in the hospital and no one from any NGO came forward to adopt them.”

He said the administration took up the matter with DDC, who assured that suitable arrangement would be made for mother-son through some NGO, but till date nothing had been done.

“The hospital administration is providing everything to mother-son duo, but we also have some limitations, how long we can take care of them.   People are willing to adopt the baby but they are not ready to take the responsibility of mentally challenged lady. We want someone who could take responsibility of both and that is not happening” he added.

He expressed that while living in hospital the duo was prone to several infections and need special attention. Although, the mother is showing signs of mental stability owing to motherhood and we don’t want to separate them, in case we do this there are chances of her going mentally extreme, he explained.

He informed that administration had approached Mother Teresa Home, but they also show unwillingness to adopt the mother.

Pertinently, Court had ordered that if any person who wants to adopt the child should take care of mother as well besides, he has to transfer half of his/her half property in the name of the child as security.

When contacted, Ajit Kumar Sahu confirmed that none of the NGO was willing to take both of them so the administration approached a Chandigarh branch of Mother Teresa Home which agreed to take the possession of child as well as his mother.

Sahu further said that some legal formalities were pending after which the duo would be shifted.