May 3, 2024, 04:42 IST
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Berhampur: A five-month-old girl, who was handed over to the district administration by her unwed mother in tribal-dominated Gajapati district about five months ago, has found a new home with a couple in Jagatsinghpur on Thursday.
The district administration had rescued the girl and placed her in a childcare institute near Paralakhemundi.
The baby was handed over to the Jagatsinghpur couple by Gajapati district collector Srumti Ranjan Pradhan at a brief function, following the guidelines set by the Central Adoption Resources Authority (CARC), an autonomous and statutory body under the ministry of women and child welfare.
District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Arun Kumar Tripathy and officials from the orphanage where the baby was housed were also present at the event. The childless couple, who waited for around four years to adopt a baby after applying for one, appeared happy after getting the child.
“In the last five years, 53 children from Gajapati district have been adopted by different individuals within the country and abroad,” Tripathy said.
To educate prospective adoptive parents about the legal adoption process, the Gajapati administration had launched a helpline number in November last year. This was done during the celebrations of National Adoption Awareness Month.