Varanasi parents tie toddler to pole to ensure safety (Re-issue)

Saraswati Devi of Loodan village near Varanasi, a daily wage worker, ties her two-year-old Shintu to a bamboo pole before leaving for work everyday to ensure that the baby does not stray far.

By Girish Kumar Dubey

Loodan (Varanasi), Sep.12 : Saraswati Devi of Loodan village near Varanasi, a daily wage worker, ties her two-year-old Shintu to a bamboo pole before leaving for work everyday to ensure that the baby does not stray far.

Shintu is fed by his 36-year-old mother Saraswati before she leaves for work, to ensure that he does not run towards the narrow lane facing the hut and injure himself. Tied to the pole with a jute rope Shintu can only cry for help to passers by.

"I cannot take him to my place of work. To make sure that he does not meet with an accident on the road, I tie him with a rope. I do it under a compulsion. We are very poor. Me and my husband go to different places to earn a livelihood," says the mother.

Shintu has two other siblings but they are too young to take care of him. The elder one is nine years of age and the younger only five.

Neighbours feel sorry for the child but they are unable to help. "Saraswati has to tie the child to the pole to avoid any accident as the child has learnt to walk and runs towards the road. She has no choice," said Kuwarbal Dev, the Village Head of Loodan Village.

ANI