Pradhan gives birth to boy before her swearing in

VARANASI: A newly elected pradhan, who turned up for the swearing in ceremony of panchayat members at the headquarters of Chiraigaon block in Varanasi district on Sunday, gave birth to a baby boy after she went into labour while waiting for her turn to take oath. The newly born was aptly named ‘Pradhanji’ as he was delivered while the ceremony was in progress.
Savita Devi, the new chief of Dhobahi village, was among 67 pradhans and 824 gram panchayat members who had assembled at the headquarters for the ceremony. She had to be rushed to the nearby primary health centre (PHC) when she complained of acute labour pains. After Savita delivered the child, block development officer Surendra Prasad went to the PHC and administered the oath to her.
“We are happy that we were blessed with a son on the day of oath taking ceremony. Hence we will call him ‘Pradhanji’,” Savita’s husband Hiralal, who works as a safai karamchari at Chiraigaon block, said while distributing sweets to celebrate the occasion. “Both mother and son are fine,” he added.
Savita contested the election for the first time and defeated former pradhan Basanti Devi. Dhobahi, with a population of over 900 and located 9 km from the district headquarters, is a small village dominated by scheduled castes and Yadavs.