| While the Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act bans sex determination using ultrasound devices, data from the health ministry shows the number of ultrasound clinics in the country has gone up from 15,843 in 2001-02 to 29,026 today (September 24 was the Girl Child Day). While not all ultrasound clinics are involved in PNDT, their growth is generally higher in states that have seen a sharp fall in their sex ratio "" Kerala is an exception to this. Gujarat, which saw saw its sex ratio (in the 0-6 years group) fall from 908 girl children for every 1,000 male children in 1991 to 827 in 2001, saw the number of such clinics rise from 1,386 to 2,639 between 2001-02 and 2006-07. Uttaranchal, which saw its sex ratio fall from 936 in 1991 to 874 in 2001 has seen the number of ultrasound clinics rise from 144 to 317 between 2001-02 to 2006-07. In the case of Rajasthan whose sex ratio fell from 909 to 886, the number of clinics rose from 663 to 1,153. While the ten worst districts in the country in terms of sex ratio in 1991 were from Punjab and Haryana, in 2001, Mehsana district from Gujarat and Shahjahanpur from Uttar Pradesh joined the group (Mehsana was 727 and Shahjahanpur was 678). |
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
