Panchayat denies birth certificate for baby

Alappuzha: The Ambalappuzha north panchayat has allegedly denied a birth certificate to Vishak, 2,  son of Amritavalli, who had sold him after his birth and then got back his custody following a controversy in 2011.    

The birth certificate was denied on the ground that  there are no proper details of his father. Amritavalli, 38, resident of Nehru Trophy ward of Alappuzha municipality, gave birth to Vishak  at Medical College Hospital, Vandaanam here on December 10, 2011.

She sold the child for Rs 2,000  three days later, but got back his custody within  two days.  Her husband,  Madhusudhanan  of Thiruvalla, was killed in a road accident two years ago.  He had married her  12 years ago and left her long before the child was born. He was a  drug addict  and tortured her brutally, she says.

Amritavalli was told by the panchayat authorities to produce the identity card of her late husband to issue the certificate. They didn’t accept the application submitted on December 6. “The birth certificate is mandatory for school admission. I have no details of my husband. I can provide only my child’s birth details,” she says.   

Amritavalli is a  daily wage earner  at the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC). A private company in Ernakulam is  providing Rs 5,000 per month for her child following a  report published by Deccan Chronicle in January 2012.

“My child was offered some money from the municipality recently. But I could not get it due to the absence of the birth certificate,” she adds. “If the authorities issue me the certificate, we will  get many benefits from the  government as we are below poverty line,” she points out. Amritavalli has to look after  her two sons, including Vishak, and her elderly mother.