New Delhi: A 10-month-old girl who lost her parents in an accident in Chhattisgarh has been given compassionate appointment by the railways, officials said.
She can work for the national transporter after attaining the age of 18 years, they said. This is probably for the first time in the history of the state that such an offer has been given to a child of this age on compassionate grounds, officials said.
Compassionate appointments aim to render immediate help to families of dead government employees.
"On July 4, a 10-month-old girl was registered for compassionate appointment in the Personnel Department of South East Central Railways (SECR), Raipur Railway Division.
“The father of the child, Rajendra Kumar, was working as an assistant at a railway yard in Bhilai. He along with his wife died in a road accident on June 1. The child, however, survived,” a statement from SECR said.
“All help was provided to Kumar's family by the Raipur Railway Division according to rules," it said.
Officials said they took the child's fingerprints to make an official registration in the railway records.
Accompanied by her relatives, the girl cried when her thumb impression was taken, recalled an official.
“It was a heart-wrenching moment. It was also difficult for us to take the thumb impression of such a small child,” he said.
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