ALAPPUZHA: The idea of Ammathottil (child cradle) is to offer women a place to safely leave their unwanted newborns incognito, but the malfunctioning of the facility set up at Women and Children (W and C) hospital in Alappuzha has resulted in the local residents detaining a mother on Saturday.
It is understood that the mother went around the facility with her new born as she found it did not have even the basic facilities such as an alarm to alert officials of Child Welfare Council and a properly kept cradle. She was later let off.
“We have written several letters to the Child Welfare Council citing the dilapidated condition of the cradle but nothing has happened,” said K.K. Joseph, member of the district Child Welfare Committee. “Now the door of the facility has been permanently latched, padded with thicket and the alarm no longer works.”
The front door of the facility, opened in 2007 is ajar, and a little lamp burns by 24x7. Local residents say the cradle is set up at a busy corner of the hospital, which defeats the very purpose of the idea. According to them, the facility must be relocated to a place where service seekers get privacy.
District Collector N Padmakumar, who is also chairman of the district Child Welfare Council, told Deccan Chronicle that he came to know of the condition of the cradle only on Saturday.
“Nobody let us know about the present condition,” he said. “Since the issue has now come to notice, we will get it done soon.”
