Chennai Corporation shelter resident delivers baby, naming ceremony held

The woman, believed to be from West Bengal, gave birth to a baby boy; officials are trying to trace her address

Even though these are pandemic times, the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) Shelter for Women on Rajaji Salai wore a festive look a few days ago. From cakes and sumptuous food to cradles, the residents and staff of the shelter came together to organise the naming ceremony of a newborn. A woman with a mild mental illness, who is a resident of the shelter, had given birth to a baby boy. The child has been named Poovan. The staff of the Shelter for Urban Homeless Cell (SUHC) under the GCC, has been rescuing homeless people in the city and taking them to shelter conducting COVID-19 tests. On March 25, the staff found a woman, suspected to be around 35 years old, sitting near Dr. MGR Chennai Central Station. “We took her to the shelter run by SIGA Community Service Guild on Rajaji Salai and found that she was speaking Bengali and was not able to recollect when she came to Chennai. She recalled that she was brought for some work. We found that she was pregnant and took her to the doctor. It was found that she was suffering from a mild mental illness,” said Asha Parekh Nandinee, city-level coordinator, SUHC.