Their joy knew no bounds when Gadi Bala Durga was reunited with her mother, A. Ramana, after 21 years. They got separated when the sick mother handed over her 21-day-old baby to a couple for care-taking. The girl now works as a computer operator in the APSRTC and, in a strange twist of fate, it was a colleague who spotted their common features and helped them reunite.
Allampilli Ramana of Kothapeta in the town delivered a baby girl in 1999. “As I fell sick and became bedridden, I handed over my 21-day-old child to a couple, Gadi Ramakrishna and Neelamma, who named her Bala Durga. After three years, Ramakrishna’s family had shifted to another place and we lost contact,” Ms. Ramana recalled.
The Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Director Krithika Shukla complimented the district Project Director and the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) staff, foster parents and donors who had helped raise the child and supported her education.
“Bala Durga’s interest in studies and determination made her complete her graduation, facing many odds. We will help her to pursue law course, as per her wish,” Ms. Shukla told The Hindu .
Many ordeals
Bala Durga’s foster parents died when she was 10 years old and she moved to their relatives’ place at Pothunuru village in West Godavari district where she studied up to ninth class in the local government school, said West Godavari district WD&CW Project Director (PD) K. Vijaya Kumari.
District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Ch. Surya Chakra Veni who tracked the case said, as the family had stopped her education and sent the girl to forests to graze the sheep, Bala Durga ran away from home. She was rescued by an NGO and the WD&CW Department had admitted her in Bala Sadan.
“After completing the 10th class, a journalist, G. Nagaraja, supported my education in S.K.S.D. Mahila Kalasala at Tanuku where I studied CEC in Inter and B.Com (Computers),” Bala Durga said.
“Recently, I got a job as a computer operator in the APSRTC, where an employee identified me with my features and took me to my family. My mother recognised me after 21 years and hugged me,” Bala Durga said.
“We will discuss with experts and hand over Bala Durga to her family by following the due procedure,” Krithika Shukla said.
