Mumbai: Baby Tiger turns four, will find a new home in 2023

(From left) Jayashree and Shivaji Ragade, the couple who rescued the baby, with Rajesh Wagh and Rupesh Dhoke, Shivaji’s associates, outside Vishwa Balak Kendra, Nerul, on Friday

Tiger, who was found in a nullah in Ambernath where he was dumped just hours after birth, turned four on Friday. He marked the day amid wishes from other kids living on the same NGO premises as him. Shivaji and Jayashree Ragade, the couple who had rescued him in 2018, also paid him a visit. If everything goes well, he will celebrate his next birthday in a loving home as a US-based couple is undergoing the adoption process and is expected to take him home in the next two to three months.

Ambernath resident Shalini Gaikwad heard a baby wailing and followed the cries till she spotted a garbage bag inside a nullah, around 5 pm on December 30, 2018. Worried, she called social activist Shivaji Ragade for help. Ragade, who happened to be nearby attending an event with his wife Jayashree, arrived soon and took out the bag from the nullah. "I grabbed the baby. He had blood all over him, the umbilical cord was still attached to his navel. Without a second thought, my wife and I took the baby to Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar," Ragade recalls.

Baby Tiger was rescued in Dec 2018

After being left in the water for hours, the baby was battling for his life and was feared to have contracted an infection. As there was not much improvement even after four days of treatment, the Ragade couple shifted the baby to Sai Ashish Hospital. It was here in this hospital that Tiger finally opened his eyes after 22 days
of treatment.

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Later, baby Tiger was shifted to Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Parel for better treatment. He then underwent a brain surgery in January 2019 and a major chunk of the cost, around R10 lakh, was crowdfunded within 24 hours.

Shivaji and Jayashree Ragade with baby Tiger. File pic

Tiger was discharged from hospital after nearly four months and was taken to Child Welfare Committee, Ambernath and then sent to Vishwa Balak Kendra in Nerul for further care and adoption.

Jayashree Ragade, who visited Tiger at the NGO, said, "It's overwhelming to meet Tiger. We always get mixed emotions when we see this kid with such a fighting spirit. He has grown into a smart and healthy kid. I wonder how the mother did not come back to see him even once. However, Tiger is now heading towards a bright future in the new year, and we wish him all the best."

Tiger was listed for adoption a few months ago and a US-based couple has initiated the process for the same. Within a few months, he will get a new home. "The process is in the last stages. We are hopeful that it will get completed in two to three months," said Satish Mungekar, administrator at Vishwa Balak Kendra.

4
Time (in months) baby Tiger had to spend in hospitals