Nurses celebrate rice eating ceremony for abandoned girl child
The nurses of paediatric ward of Kharagpore subdivisional hospital are bringing up an abandoned girl and boy child.
At a time when chief minister Mamata Banerjee is pulling up authorities of hospitals in the state for overcharging and shoddy treatment, the sub-divisional hospital of Kharagpore presented a different picture by celebrating the rice eating ceremony of a girl child who was abandoned by her mother after delivery.
A mentally unstable woman delivered the baby on September 28 last year. Since then the nine nurses of the paediatric ward have been looking after her. They have named her Rani.
Read: Abandoned by her own, girl child finds love among strangers
Gorgeous in a pink dress, six-month-old Rani was at her bubbly best on Monday as the nurses kept coddling her. Over the past six months, she has known the nurses of the paediatric ward of the hospital as her mother.
The hospital authority decorated the paediatric ward with balloons. At the entrance of the room they also slapped a poster declaring the occasion. Keeping with the custom, the nurses decorated little Rani with sandalwood paste.
Sutrishna Bhattacharya, a nurse, prepared payesh at her home and brought it to the hospital. Hospital super Krishnendu Mukherjee, and chief medical officer of health of West Midnapore district Girish chandra Bera put the sweet prepared by Bhattacharya on Rani’s tongue.
Read: Delhi cops turn saviour for abandoned infant, name her Swadha
Chocolates were distribute among the patients of the ward where 20 children are undergoing treatment.
Bera also brought three sets of dress and a towel for the girl.
The grand mother of a seven-month-old girl, Rajanya Das, who is admitted in the ward, gifted a dress set for the baby. The employees also arranged a midday meal.
“All arrangements were funded with contribution from the employees,” said the hospital superintendent.
Incidentally, the nurses are also rearing a three-month-old boy who was found by the roadside. They have named him Raja.
“Raja is calm, but Rani is naughty,” said Sutrishna.
Below the merriment on Monday, a silent strain of sadness was palpable. Raja has to leave the hospital soon. Child Line authorities are preparing papers and they will take away Raja. Rani’s documents are yet to be processed.
“We don’t know how we will bid goodbye to them. We are praying that they remain here, we take all the care of the babies,” said a nurse.
