KOCHI: The state government will adopt the 23-day-old baby girl who was abandoned by her parents from Jharkhand at a private hospital in the city the other day.

The women and child development (WCD) department will take urgent action to protect the child, who was abandoned at the neonatal intensive care unit of a private hospital.

A directive has been issued to the department director in this regard, Health Minister Veena George said on Friday.

“If the parents return, the baby will be handed over to them. If they do not want custody, the Child Welfare Committee will take legal steps to care for the child,” an official release said.

The parents, a couple from Jharkhand, were working at a fish farm in Kottayam. While travelling home for delivery, the mother developed health issues on the train and was taken to the nearest hospital, where she gave birth on January 29.