Disabled kids given 'burial' treatment during eclipse in Karnataka

Gulbarga (Kartnataka), July 23 (ANI): With a hope to heal their children of physical disability, many parents in Gulbarga region of Karnataka buried their children upto the neck in a pit during solar eclipse.

The Saat Gumbaj in Khari Babri, Mominpur, Naya Mohalla, and Bilalabad areas of Gulbarga witnessed this bizarre event.

Parents of children suffering from physical disability in limbs, paralysis or polio gathered at these venues with their wards to give them a 'burial' treatment with the belief burying them upto the neck during the period of eclipse would cure them of the ailments.

Those who availed such a weird treatment were not only locals but also many from other districts and the adjoining states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Around 100 children underwent this treatment, conducted in unhygienic conditions since a couple of the pits in which they were buried happened to be next to garbage dumps.

The ritual commenced an hour before the solar eclipse and the affected part of a child's body was massaged with oil and holy water for fifteen minutes before being buried.

The children remained in the pit till the eclipse ended.

"We apply oil, water and offer prayer before burying the child. This process starts 15 minutes before the solar eclipse. As soon as the eclipse ends we scoop open the pit and bring out the children one by one," said Zafar Ansari, a resident.

Some of the parents said that the condition of their children after undergoing this 'burial' treatment during eclipse period had improved vis-à-vis the prescribed medication by the doctors!

This superstitious ritual has been prevalent among both the Hindus and Muslims in this region known as Hyderabad-Karnataka.

Reportedly, for the past five years this ritual has been a regular affair during both solar and lunar eclipse periods. (ANI)