HT report triggers move to set up orphanage

A day after Hindustan Times reported about how a 28-year-old tribal woman from Jawhar, 150 km north of Mumbai, had sold her newborn son for Rs 400 as she could not afford to bring him up, the Thane district administration has decided to take the issue up with the state government.

A day after Hindustan Times reported about how a 28-year-old tribal woman from Jawhar, 150 km north of Mumbai, had sold her newborn son for Rs 400 as she could not afford to bring him up, the Thane district administration has decided to take the issue up with the state government.

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Deputy collector (revenue) Vijay Joshi said the administration would ask the government to set up an adoption centre or orphanage at the taluka to provide underprivileged children with a secure environment until they are legally adopted. “HT’s report is an eye opener,” Joshi said. “Something needs to be done to save these children.”

Deputy collector (tribal development), P. Gandhale said: “I am sending a proposal to the government for an orphanage or adoption centre here.” He said if non-governmental organisations volunteered, the administration would assist them.

On Monday, a fact-finding team visited Chondipada, the hamlet where the boy, Sagar, lives with the family he was sold to, and Aakre village, where his mother, Durga Tokre, lived. “HT’s report is correct. I am shocked,” Joshi said.

Sanjeev Joshi, a social worker from Dahanu, said the tribal development department should find out how many children had been sold in the taluka in the last 10 years.