Rajasthan couple stranded in Tripura names newborn 'Lockdown'

A migrant couple from Rajasthan, stranded in Tripura due to the lockdown imposed to contain novel coronavirus outbreak, has named its newborn baby 'Lockdown'.

Sanjay Bauri said he and his pregnant wife, Manju, had come to Tripura from Dausa district of Rajasthan six months ago to sell toys, steel utensils and plastic products on the streets of Agartala.

"My wife gave birth to a baby boy at the state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Hospital here six days ago. We named him 'Lockdown' remembering all the problems we had to face during this tough time," Bauri told reporters.

Many hawkers like the Bauri couple who had come to Tripura from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, got stranded in the northeastern state due to the lockdown.

"Me and my wife, along with 61 other hawkers, tried to return to our native places and went to Badharghat Railway Station, only to find the train services suspended," Bauri said.

Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel, however, came to the rescue of the stranded migrants and arranged for their food and shelter in two schools in West Tripura district, he said.

"They fed us, gave medicines and provided medical assistance to my wife," Bauri said.

Manju said the GRP personnel had distributed sweets to their colleagues and other stranded migrants to celebrate the birth of her child.

"Upon finding 63 migrant vendors loitering aimlessly during the lockdown, we arranged shelter and food for them. We shifted the pregnant woman to the hospital and she gave birth to a healthy baby. We are giving food, nutritional supplements and medicines to the mother and the child," GRP Superintendent of Police Pinaki Samanta said.

Manju, however, wants to return home as soon as the lockdown is lifted.

"We will leave for our village as soon as the lockdown is lifted. But we will never forget the kind gesture of the GRP personnel.

"A senior lady doctor of the police department, Purba Biswas, regularly checked the condition of me and my child after we were discharged from the hospital and gave usmedicines and vitamin pills," she added.