Cuttack, June 20: A baby girl was found abandoned on the premises of the district collector's office today.

The baby, who was dressed in a red and blue T-shirt, was found on the veranda near the portico of the office. Some staff members had spotted the infant sleeping on a towel and informed senior officials around 10am.

"We received a call from the district child protection officer and after rescuing the girl child, she was immediately taken to Sishu Bhavan for a thorough medical examination," said Narayan Shukla, a senior member of Childline, an NGO working for children in distress.

Shukla said the baby girl was malnourished and that her limbs were very thin. He said that could be why her parents had abandoned her.

A detailed medical examination will shortly be conducted by a team of doctors at Sishu Bhavan to ascertain if the child is suffering from any congenital disease.

District officials said that despite awareness drives, a complete check on such incidents has not been possible. On February 5 last year, the Government Railway Police had rescued a newborn girl from a toilet block at Cuttack railway station.

Two baby girls were also found inside a carton on platform No. 1 on November 4, 2011. Both babies had been dumped near a pile of consignment near a luggage trolley. Two days later, another 15-day-old baby was found from near a dustbin in front of Archarya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre.

"Girls are abandoned mostly due to strong gender bias, congenital diseases or poor financial background of the parents. It is high time that concrete measures are taken to create awareness and take action against parents who abandon their baby girls," said Swadhin Pradhan, a local resident.

The district child protection officer, Pragati Mohanty, said that on an average, at least 20 to 25 children, most of them girls, are abandoned or deserted every year in Cuttack.

"Till this evening, nobody has turned up to claim the baby girl. According to procedure under the juvenile act, the child has been kept under medical supervision at Sishu Bhavan," said Mohanty.

"An advertisement with a photograph of the baby will be issued and if no one turns up to claim the child within 30 days, she given up for adoption," she said.