Nabarangpur: Yet another newborn was injured by branding of his
abdomen in Tentulikhunti block of Nabarangpur district on
Friday. The 45-day-old boy has been admitted in Nabarangpur district hospital.
According to sources, Gitanjali Harijan and Junesh
Harijan, from Khuntiaguda village of Tentulikhunti block, branded their
child when the child developed some stomach and breathing problems,
the parents approached a tribal traditional healer or ‘desari’,
who branded his abdomen. When his condition deteriorated, he was
brought to hospital.
This incident has come after the Jyoti campaign initiated by
the district administration where a village level awareness drive in
all its 169 grampanchayats with 4,400 traditional healers,
anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, Panchayatiraj functionaries and local
youths were part of the awareness drive. Recently Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik awarded a cash prize of Rs. 15 Lakh
to Nabarangpur Collector Rashmita Panda for district’s performance
in fighting superstition.
