KARACHI: The bodies of two newborn babies were recovered from separate places in the city on Sunday.
The body of an infant was found in a storm water drain near the 4-K bus stop in Surjani Town. The body was fished out and buried by rescuers of a welfare organisation at the Mewashah Graveyard.
Another body of a newborn was recovered from a garbage dump in Block 2, PECHS. The infant was buried at the graveyard in Mawach Goth after offering funeral prayers.
25 infant bodies recovered every month: The Mewashah Graveyard on Sunday had two more graves dug up without any head stones, as bodies of two newborn babies were recovered from different areas in the city. As per records, around 20 to 25 bodies of infants are found every month, the majority of which are girls.
These unfortunate souls are rejected not only by their parents but the state too as there is no official record of their birth and death, and the police do not register any FIRs or conduct post-mortems for determining the cause of mortality. Chippa Foundation Chairman Ramzan Chippa said that on an average, about 20 to 25 bodies are recovered by his foundation every month from the city, which are handled and buried at the Mewa Shah Graveyard.
He appealed to the people not to kill their babies and instead give them to the Chippa Foundation.
“I am unable to provide any data but I can say with confidence that more bodies of newborns are being recovered now than in the past,” Chippa said, adding that Karachi topped the list of such cases, followed by Islamabad and Lahore.
“We also recover about five bodies of immature infants every month,” he said.
He added that there are no specific areas and the bodies are recovered from all over the city. “If you visit the Mewashah Graveyard, you will find several small graves without head stones or official records,” Chippa said.
The bodies are often disfigured and mauled by stray animals and scavenger birds, and at times, burnt with garbage in the dumps.
The bodies are also found from sewers, drains and filthy narrow lanes, which shows the cruelty of their parents. They may have been born through an illegitimate act but all of them have the right to live a life, he concluded.
