Rickshaw puller's baby leaves hospital

He carried her in sling to work after her mother died

Nearly two-month-old Damini who captured the nation’s attention following the media coverage of her father, a rickshaw puller carrying her on a sling after her mother’s untimely  death has been discharged from the hospital on Sunday.

 Damini was acutely  underweight and had suffered  infection due to her exposure to the vagaries of nature. She has been undergoing  treatment at a private hospital following her health deteriorated.

She now weighs about 2.3 kg, still underweight. But she is far healthier now than when she made the headlines, slung to her father’s chest as he ferried people in his cycle-rickshaw in Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

"She was underweight, anaemic and malnourished when she was admitted here but now she is absolutely fine and her condition is normal,” Dr J K Mittal, who treated her, told reporters here.

Initially, she was on ventilator, but was taken off the support when she responded to treatment. She has gained 600 gram during the treatment, Pratim Tamboll, hospital’s director said.

Following media reports, the government of Rajasthan offered to move Damini to a private hospital in Jaipur where she would be treated free of cost.

Damini's mother died during childbirth. Her father, Babloo, has no close relatives with whom he could leave her  when he is at work. And worried about her health, he is unwilling to entrust her to one of the many NGOs that have offered day care for her in his home town.

She was brought from hospital on a vehicle sent by the Bharatpur district collector.
The public have donated about  Rs 16.5 lakhs for Damini. The government plans to put this money into a trust for her. 

Babloo said he will start a small business like a tea shop to earn his livelihood and will ensure that Damini gets good care and education with the help people offered him.