Days after a three-day-old baby girl in Tripura's Dhalai district was rescued hours after a poor tribal woman reportedly sold the infant, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday said more social awareness is needed to make sure such incidents do not happen again.
Noting that he had taken stock of the situation, the Chief Minister said that he took information from the District Magistrate and Collector of Dhalai district Saju Vaheed A, about the incident of the newborn being rescued and returned to her mother.
Referring to the allegations of the CPI-M about the "child sale" and economic distress of rural people and their suffering from acute scarcity of food and work, CM Saha said: "We used to witness such things (child sale and other problems) everyday when the Left parties were in power. I suggest people read the newspapers of that time (Left regime) and check."
The Chief Minister said that considering the backwardness, the state government provides 10 per cent additional funds for development to Dhalai district, which is categorised as 'Aspirational District' by the Central government.
"Aspirational districts are areas where the government provides extra funds and focus to bring them at par with other districts. This 'Aspirational District' was earlier neglected by the previous government," he told the media.
Saha said that the Chief Secretary briefed him in details about the incident (alleged child sale) and apprised that funds were provided by the local administration to the concerned tribal family and other steps were also taken to support the family.
"The opposition parties are creating issues and misguiding people against the government," he said.
Reacting to the matter, BJP spokesperson Ashmita Banik on Monday said that the opposition CPI-M and Congress have tried to confuse people with false information of child sale in Dhalai district.
"A woman in Dhalai district gave away her newborn infant to a childless family for adoption. Unfortunately, the legal procedure for adoption was not followed in this case," she told the media.
The DM, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Child line executives, local district council members visited and took stock of the situation.
"The mother of the newborn wanted to have a medical termination of the child but the doctor didn't recommend it since the pregnancy was in an advanced stage. Then the tribal woman gave the child away almost for free to a childless couple for adoption. There is no case of child sale here. It is a complete lie," Bank told the media.
Earlier, opposition leader Jitendra Chaudhury had said that a three-day old baby girl was reportedly sold by her mother due to 'extreme poverty' and he informed Dhalai District Magistrate and Collector Saju Vaheed A and Tripura Chief Secretary J.K. Sinha and sought their intervention.
Local media reports also said that a woman, Mormari Tripura (39), gave birth to a girl on May 23 at the Gandachara Sub-Divisional Hospital and the next day, she reportedly sold the infant to a couple for Rs 5,000.
According to reports, Mormari's husband reportedly committed suicide five months ago due to financial hardship.
She is the mother of five children, including the newborn.
The District Magistrate had said the local authorities rescued the baby and handed it over to the woman on May 25.
"The mother and the newborn are now at home in Gandachara. The woman has been facing severe poverty, especially after her husband's death. But it is not true that she sold her ration card and other documents to others," Vaheed A had told IANS.
Flight operation between Agartala-Delhi to be increased; resumption of flight operation between Agartala-Aizawl, Agartala-Shillong, says MP Biplab Kumar Deb
The former Chief Minister and presently the MP for West Tripura constituency Biplab Kumar Deb on Friday chaired the airport advisory committee meeting here at Agartala MBB Airport and said that there is a plan to increase direct flight operation from Delhi to Agartala.
Tripura: Bill proposes hike in salaries of CM, Ministers and MLAs upto 50pc
An Amendment Bill has been moved in the Tripura Assembly on Friday proposing the increase of salaries, allowances of Ministers, MLAs and former legislators by 45 to 50 per cent.
Winter assembly session begins in Tripura; Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu lauds Govt’s effort in maintaining law and order in Tripura
In his speech in the sixth session of the 13th Tripura Legislative Assembly, the Governor said, “The state of Tripura is witnessing development in almost every sector including infrastructure, health care, education, agriculture and others under the guidance of the Centre and state leadership.”
TSF stages protest, demands to raise Roman script for Kokborok language in Assembly
The Twipra Student Federation (TSF), a wing of the North East Students Organisation (NESO), on Friday staged a protest near Circuit House in Agartala, demanding the issue of adopting the Roman script for the Kokborok language be raised in the winter session of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, which started today.
Govt to appoint over 400 Assistant Professors in colleges: CM
In a move to provide quality education to students studying in various colleges and to solve the crisis of Professors across the state, the Tripura government has taken a series of steps, including the appointment of 200 Assistant Professors,
Drug peddling: ED raids cop's residence, premises of suspected smugglers in Tripura
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths on Friday conducted raids in Tripura and searched the residence of a police official and premises of several people allegedly involved in drug peddling and money laundering cases, sources said.
Crucial winter session of Tripura Assembly to begin from tomorrow
The crucial winter session of the Tripura assembly would begin on Friday and a bill would be moved in the House amending the existing law to provide retirement benefits to all MLAs who have served even for just a day, officials said on Thursday.
Ex-CM accuses BJP of divisive politics to mask hide core issues
Former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Saturday criticized the ruling BJP, accusing it of fostering divisions among Hindus, Muslims, Tribals, and Non-Tribals to divert attention from pressing issues such as rising prices, unemployment, and economic hardships.