Nabarangpur: The malpractice of branding children with hot iron rod to cure their ailments continues unabated in the tribal-dominated district, contrary to the administration's claim of making the rural masses aware against it.

In the latest incident, a 30-day-old baby boy, who was admitted at district headquarters hospital after being branded with hot iron rod by his mother, succumbed to his injuries on Friday. The deceased belongs to Petuguda village under Papdahandi block and was admitted at the hospital on Thursday night.

"The child's mother had branded him with hot iron rod to cure his stomach pain when he was 19 days old. Due to branding, his condition deteriorated and he developed septicaemia. His condition was critical," said B.K. Rath, the doctor who was treating the child at the hospital.

On June 19, a six-month-old boy in the district died after his mother had branded him with hot iron rod to cure his ailment.

While doctors say it is not medically proved that illness gets cured if a child is branded, ignorant and superstitious villagers still carry out the practice.

"The tribal people are so ignorant that even for minor ailments they visit traditional healers (witch doctors) in spite of going to a health centre," said Ramesh Majhi, an activist of Nabarangpur.

However, officials said an awareness drive against the superstition of branding children was on cards and would shortly be started in the district.

"We have prepared a blueprint for an awareness drive against branding of children in the remote areas. Field-level staff members from various departments will be involved in the drive, which is expected to be launched during the month end," said Nabarangpur collector Ajit Kumar Mishra.

Two years ago, the Nabarangpur administration had launched a programme titled "Jyoti" with an aim to make the traditional healers aware against branding.