Breaking barriers, Lohri celebrated with 17 newborn girls

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 13 

The staff of  Mother and Child Hospital, which is a part of the Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital, today celebrated Lohri with 17 newborn girls, who are born on January 12 and 13, and their parents. The staff members also distributed blankets, kits of baby care products, toys and edibles among them.

Notwithstanding the tradition of celebrating Lohri to mark the arrival of a baby boy, the hospital staff congratulated the parents on newborn girls’ birth. The staff gathered in the compound near the pediatric ward and lit fire and distributed sweets, ‘rewris’ and ‘gajak’. 

Those present on the occasion admitted that things had changed a lot now and the girl child were treated equally with boys. They said the mindset of a certain section of society had not changed in these years and there was still a long way to go before girls acquire the equal status in society. 

Addressing the gathering, Kundan Kumar Pal, District Immunisation Officer, said, “The girl child must be provided a nutritious diet so that they can live healthy life. Vaccination of girls needs to be done on time to keep them healthy and disease-free. The parents of the girl child must ensure that they provide higher education to them. We can think of a flourishing society by making girls self-reliant, the need of the hour.” 

Said Dr Satish Jindal, “Girls have scaled new heights in almost every field today. But it is shameful that we still get to hear about female foeticide in news. It is high time we reached out to the people who have 

a biased approach toward the girl child and sensitise them about the importance of the girls.”