Umarkote: In a reminder of the prevalence of superstitious and harmful traditional practices in the state, a one-month-old baby boy was branded more than 40 times with a hot iron rod by his family members for curing him of some disease. The child has suffered serious burns in the process.
According to reports, the incident took place at Phundalpada village under the Gambhariguda gram panchayat of Chandahandi block in Nabarangpur district.
The infant, son of one Saroja Kumar Nayak, reportedly suffered from some aliment that caused stiffness of body and frequent crying. Heeding to a misguided belief, the family members resorted to branding him with a hot iron multiple times on head and stomach. Initially, the baby stopped crying, cementing the family’s belief in the practice.
However, after two days, he began to experience unbearable pain and resumed crying. Family members then took him to Umarkote Hospital around 1 pm Sunday.
Senior paediatric specialist and Nabarangpur chief district medical officer (CDMO) Santosh Kumar Panda immediately examined the baby and initiated treatment to stabilise him.
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Expressing concern over the incident, he said that cases of hot branding had resurfaced in the district after a long time. He also stressed the urgent need to re-launch awareness campaigns against the dangerous practice.
PNN