Belagavi: District child protection unit(DCPU) has protected and nurtured a total of 126 children in the period between 2008 to 2020 in Belagavi district. These children have been rehabilitated at Swamy Vivekananda rehabilitation centre in the city. What good thing happened is, the couples not just from India but from Ameria, Australia has adopted 108 children among these orphan children.
Presently 18 children are in the centre in which the adoption process of 11 children is in process. The children being nurtured in the centre are those who have been left abandoned by their parents. Some parents might have left because they don’t want a girl child, poverty could be another reason or baby born before the wedding. But such abandoned babies are nurtured with love and care of the mother at a centre. In the year 2019-20, the child protection department has protected 16 abandoned children and handed over them to Swami Vivekananda Centre where these babies are nurtured with mother love and then make them available for the adoption to the couples who are desired to take care of them.
The department has successfully implemented the ‘International child protection and adaption month programme’ in the district. The Asha workers and Anganwadi workers have been trained for the same. This programme is implemented to create shelter for the orphan children as well as to create a bright future for them.
If any baby is found, it is immediately taken to the hospital for the primary treatment and medical examination. An FIR is registered with the concerned police station. Then efforts are made to search for the parents of the baby. If the parents or guardians of the baby did not found within 60 days, the baby will be available for the adaption as per the order of the district child welfare committee. According to the officials, at least six months is required to complete the adoption of one baby.
Ravindra Ratnakar, the district child protection officer said ‘There is a legal procedure to adopt a baby. Illegal adoption may violet the child protection act 2015 and lead into the offence. The department is doing well in the protection of the abandoned babies’ he said.