Bhubaneswar: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has decided to sponsor gifts or cash to the children born on board ‘Shramik Special’ trains. However, the train will have to operate on the ECoR network. This is an effort to support the new mothers, ECoR officials said.
Voluntary effort
The effort will be completely voluntary by officers of the zone and will either be in the form of cash or gifts. The first such sponsorship came from the general manager of the zone, Vidya Bhushan himself. He sent Rs 5,000 to the mother of a child born Friday. This was the third child born in the zone so far. Since May 1, around 37 children have been born on board ‘Shramik Special’ trains and on railway premises.
3rd baby born in ECoR zone
Nineteen-year-old Meena Kumbhar delivered Friday a baby boy on the train. A railway doctor in Titilagarh attended and examined the woman and the baby and found them to be in good condition. The baby and the mother were shifted to the government hospital at Titilagarh. This was done on the advice of the medical authorities of Bolangir district, an EcoR spokesperson said. Of the three babies, two were born at Titilagarh and one at Bolangir.
ECoR statement
“East Coast Railway General Manager Vidya Bhushan today made an announcement. He said officials on personal and voluntary sponsorship basis will sponsor a gift to the newborn babies in ECoR jurisdiction. The GM himself sent a gift amount of Rs 5,000 for the baby born Friday. Other senior officials have volunteered to sponsor gift items in subsequent cases,” an ECoR spokersperson said Friday here.
Earlier, a migrant woman, the native of a village in Bolangir district, had given birth to a baby boy May 22. Another woman returning home in Chhattisgarh had delivered a baby girl on a train at Titilagarh, May 24.
PNN & Agencies