Electric cradle at General Hospital for safe abandonment of babies not functional

Could the 45-day-old infant whose life was snuffed out allegedly by his mother and live-in partner have been spared if Ammathottil, the electric cradle of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare primarily meant for safe abandoning of babies, at the Ernakulam General Hospital was operational? While one may never know that, the fact that the cradle has not been functional for the past three weeks reportedly after a mentally challenged person messed it up remains. A baby dropped in the cradle is immediately handed over to the Child Welfare Committee, which in turn shifts the infant to one of its many recognised childcare homes. “If no one makes a legal claim within a month, the child will be declared free for adoption thus making the infant available for legal adoption,” said Mr. Arunkumar.