CWC: Social stigma leads to abandonment
A dark side in cases of missing children is parents abandoning mentally-challenged children, particularly those with cerebral palsy, on the sacred Bada Danda, entrusting their care to Lord Jagannath in Puri. The CWC in Puri comes across several such cases, although Puri accounts for the highest number of rescued children in a month. Around 50 missing children are rescued in Puri in a month on an average.
This practice of abandoning mentally-challenged children, deeply rooted in religious beliefs, leaves many kids unidentified and vulnerable. The Puri CWC currently shelters 270 rescued children, including eight infants and 12 with mental disabilities.
“My experience says that parents, unable to handle the sickness of their children, leave them on Grand Road for them to be taken care of by the Lord. Also, some parents consciously resort to this practice hoping that Lord Jagannath will come to their rescue and cure their children,” CWC (Puri) chairperson Ajit Mahapatra said.
Mahapatra added that among all the districts, Puri stands out both for the number of children rescued and for the number who disappear or who end up here. “The seasonal surge in pilgrim inflow, crowds and constant movement renders Puri railway station a hotspot for abandonment, trafficking and unregistered migration,” he added.
The town’s status as the final railway stop aggravates the issue, as children abandoned on trains often end up at Puri station, hailing from various states, sources said.
Officials said many parents overwhelmed by social stigma or poverty abandon their special needs children near temples or crowded pilgrimage zones, hoping for divine mercy or social acceptance. “Once abandoned, these children are often subjected to neglect, exploitation or trafficking,” a district level officer said.
In such cases, CWC tries to trace their native taking their Aadhaar biometric and when searched, some matches with the furnished data and origin is traced.
This practice of abandoning mentally-challenged children, deeply rooted in religious beliefs, leaves many kids unidentified and vulnerable. The Puri CWC currently shelters 270 rescued children, including eight infants and 12 with mental disabilities.
“My experience says that parents, unable to handle the sickness of their children, leave them on Grand Road for them to be taken care of by the Lord. Also, some parents consciously resort to this practice hoping that Lord Jagannath will come to their rescue and cure their children,” CWC (Puri) chairperson Ajit Mahapatra said.
Mahapatra added that among all the districts, Puri stands out both for the number of children rescued and for the number who disappear or who end up here. “The seasonal surge in pilgrim inflow, crowds and constant movement renders Puri railway station a hotspot for abandonment, trafficking and unregistered migration,” he added.
The town’s status as the final railway stop aggravates the issue, as children abandoned on trains often end up at Puri station, hailing from various states, sources said.
Officials said many parents overwhelmed by social stigma or poverty abandon their special needs children near temples or crowded pilgrimage zones, hoping for divine mercy or social acceptance. “Once abandoned, these children are often subjected to neglect, exploitation or trafficking,” a district level officer said.
In such cases, CWC tries to trace their native taking their Aadhaar biometric and when searched, some matches with the furnished data and origin is traced.
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