Nalgonda:
A drought claims many casualties. One of the first is baby girls in the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh.
Newborn baby girls have landed at Nalgonda's General Hospital because their biological mothers gave them away. Apparently because conditions made worse by this year's drought have made this little mouth one too many to feed.
India celebrated its 63rd Birthday and in just 10 days following that, three baby girls were given away as unwanted by their biological parents.
Activists say the rush of arrivals at this Shishu Vihar in Nalgonda has increased in the last few weeks as a direct fallout of drought. The newborns getting dumped are all baby girls.
Pramila a social activist, says "They say because of drought, they are not able to take care of baby girls. So they want to give them away. Whereas baby boys don't get abandoned like this."
The government began the cradle scheme so unwanted baby girls would not be killed or sold. But unwittingly, it is being used to choose the gender of the child, a family will keep as their own or abandon like an orphan. Erratic and poor rainfall has only made inhuman choices seem more pragmatic.
Devi, a mother of five says, "There are already four children. She is the fifth one. We can't afford to feed them or clothe them. The government has started this scheme. So put her in the cradle. So the government will look after her."