In Uttar Pradesh’s Gayaghat village, located in the Siddharth Nagar district, it is common for people to cross over to the Nepal border through the Kakrahwa border, covering a distance of about 40 km. This was recounted by Abdul Awwala, a farmer in the village, as he recalled taking his newborn daughter to a hospital in Nepal for treatment after noticing an abnormality on her hand in early January.

Doctors there had suspected gangrene and mentioned the possibility of amputation, prompting Abdul to seek further advice. After visiting several facilities in Gorakhpur without a favourable outcome, he consulted his family doctor, who recommended Mumbai’s Wadia Hospital. Three weeks after her birth, the family brought the girl for treatment to Mumbai. Abdul said, “I trusted the doctor back home and took her to the hospital he suggested.” The stakes were high as the family had a history of losing two other newborns.