HYDERABAD: When a girl is born in this village, the entire village gathers at the
local panchayat office
, sweets are distributed and parents of the newborn made to feel special.
No one goes around to inform about the birth of a girl — word spreads as soon as the panchayat office is lighted up specially for the occasion. This is
Haridaspur village
, located 80 km from Hyderabad with a population of 816, in Sangareddy’s Kondapur mandal.
Though the tradition started only last year, the villagers have warmed up to the idea. It all began on January 1, 2020, when a family had a girl born and a health worker dissuaded the panchayat secretary from going there to congratulate the parents as it was their third
girl child.
But the panchayat secretary, Rohit Kulkarni, had no second thoughts. He went to the family and told the parents how blessed they were. It did not end there. Village sarpanch Mohammed Shafi agreed to celebrate the birth of a girl child, a function was duly organised and sweets distributed to everyone in the village. Since that day, at least three more such celebrations have been held.
Fifty girls
enrolled in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
“When lights are glowing at the panchayat building, it means it is time for
celebration
. Everyone participates in congratulating the parents of the
baby girl
,” Kulkarni told TOI.
Aware of anxiety among parents on how to raise the girl child, Shafi, Kulkarni and other panchayat officials went about trying to stitch a secure financial path.
They explained to families about ‘Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana’ for girls up to 10 years that’s locked up till they turn 21, with one withdrawal of 50% for higher education when the girl turns 18. To encourage parents, the sarpanch and panchayat secretary even made personal contributions of Rs 1,000 to enrol all the four girls born in 2020 in the scheme.
Not stopping at that, villagers were encouraged to donate and now 50 girls below 10 years have been enrolled in the scheme. A youth committee was formed with the responsibility of seeing that parents make their deposits every month.
“Now, no one feels sad if a baby girl is born. There are only celebrations in the village,” Kulkarni said.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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