Second lives of Mumbai’s abandoned babies: Stories of grit and hope

MUMBAI: From being found abandoned in an autorickshaw at Kanjurmarg in November 2017 to undergoing a battery of surgeries at Kansas, USA, to help her walk and talk again, the tale of seven-year-old Radhika is one of grit, survival and hope. The police work closely with employees of NGOs to put up abandoned babies for adoption Hemant Sharma alias Aman, who found the abandoned infant, narrated the details of how he rescued her. “Among these are the fear of social stigma among unmarried mothers, rejection of girl children, deformity in the infant, financial issues, pressure from family and postpartum depression,” said a police officer. “This helps us provide the baby with a healthy environment, increasing their chances of survival,” said Sudhir Kudalkar, former senior police inspector of MHB Colony Police Station. Raman Srinivasa, trustee of the Vatsalya Trust in Kanjurmarg, said, “The police find homes for around 30 to 40 babies, which is one percent of the national figure of babies up for official adoption.” The adoption process The baby found by the public is handed over to the police, who admit the kid to hospital for a medical examination and further treatment if necessary.