CHANDIGARH: The ministry of external affairs on Wednesday proved to be a guardian angel for two-year-old Taqdir Kaur Sekhon , who is struggling with renal failure, by issuing a passport in record seven minutes to her. The ministry took the unusual step after Taqdir's father, a farmer from Muktsar, wept endlessly at the regional office in Chandigarh.

Taqdir, whose name means destiny, has been diagnosed with Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), a rare, life-threatening disease which leads to formation of blood clots in small blood vessels throughout the body.

Despite the use of supportive care, experts say, aHUS leads to stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, and death in about 35% cases.

The child's treatment at Fortis institute of renal science and transplantion in Delhi had come to a standstill after the nephrology department told the family that she needs to be taken to Singapore for further care. Her father Mandeep Sekhon , 28, rushed to the passport offices in Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, to get her passport. He was allowed to collect the passport without the kid's presence in Chandigarh following the intervention of Chandigarh regional passport officer (RPO).

"Keeping in view the rare medical emergency and the father's condition, who is shell-shocked by his only child's condition, we have issued a passport without routine stringent procedures of online application and police verification. The correspondence between the hospital, MEA and airports will be maintained in the records," said Chandigarh RPO Rakesh Agarwal, (IPS).

However, Sekhon faces more challenges ahead - like meeting the cost of expensive treatment abroad which may run up to Rs 83 lakh by rough estimates. He has already mortgaged his 27 acre land, on which he grows wheat and paddy, in Alamwala village of Malout tehsil to raise a loan of Rs 78 lakh.

"My daughter's welfare comes before anything else. Money can be earned later, I am pinning all my hopes on the supreme power," said Sekhon, who is also battling rain-ravaged crops.

Girl child named Taqdir

Mandeep Sekhon, in his application to the passport office, counted his blessings and focused on the significance of having a girl child, given the poor sex ratio in his home district of Muktsar. "Taqdir is my only child and daughter. She was named so as she was born in a district with poor sex ratio. We have already moved from pillar to post to provide her treatment. Due to the nature of illness, I have requested the passport officer to process our application in Chandigarh," he said.

