Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur

Kundapur, May 24: This is the tragic tale of a family which has not been the beneficiary of any developmental plans implemented by the government. This is the true story of a woman who fell victim to a marriage broker and was forcibly married off. When a baby girl was born to her, her husband refused to acknowledge the child as his, and frequently assaulted the wife.

Unable to bear the burden of poverty and harassment, she was on the verge of selling her baby, when timely intervention by a doctor and the assistant committioner (AC) made her change her mind.

A financially backward girl residing in Uppinakudru village of Kundapur taluk was married to a man from a different community from Uttar Kannada a couple of years ago through the assistance of a local marriage broker. She gave birth to a girl child around 8 months ago and the series of problems started then.

Her husband Lingesh works in a movie theatre as a ticket issuer and earns around Rs 4,000 per month. His wife has no income and thus he faced a financial crisis as his income was not sufficient to run the household. The girl's mother had taken loans from the hotel where she worked, but when the loans crossed limits and she was unable to pay back, the hotel stopped paying her. It became difficult to pay back the loans taken from the Dharmasthala Society too.

The girl who has completed her SSLC, has no job. They have no support from society as it was an inter-caste marriage. Unable to bear the torture by her husband, she left for her parental house six months ago, with her then two-month-old child.

Amidst these problems, the child fell ill. Luckily, well-known paediatric surgeon Dr Ranjith Hegde offered free treatment to the child. When the child fell ill again, she approached the doctor and shared her problems. She asked him to look for someone who would want to adopt the child, and said she had decided to sell her baby. Moved by her situation, the doctor approached Kundapur AC S Yogeshwar and apprised him of the situation.

Yogeshwar called the woman, her mother, and the husband for counseling and was successful in reconciling them to some extent. The AC urged the Women and Child Welfare Department to keep an eye on the mother and child to ensure their safety and security. Now the child has been admitted to Matta Hospital in Kundapur for free treatment. The locals have applauded the quick action and humanitarian gesture of the doctor and the AC.