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Govt to study sonography records to crackdown on foeticide

The Act aims at preventing misuse of pre-natal sex determination techniques for gender determination and female foeticide

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To crackdown on gender-selective abortions and female foeticide, the state government will study records of ultrasound clinics to detect and investigate anomalies.

Officials said this would map imaging centres where inconsistencies are suspected and detect violations of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 (PCPNDT). The Act aims at preventing misuse of pre-natal sex determination techniques for gender determination and female foeticide.

"We will rigorously analyse F-forms (records of pre-natal diagnostic procedures by ultrasound clinics) based on specific indicators… and focus on suspicious issues. This will cover repeated referrals by one doctor at a sonography centre, patients or women with over one girl child from certain areas being sent to a particular centre," Dr Archana Patil, Additional Director General of Health Services, told DNA.

"This will help us get leads on sonography centres and doctors involved in helping couples determine the gender of their unborn children and terminating the female foetus," she added, stating it would be done through software and manual data mining. This will also enable authorities to track pregnancies and if they have been terminated, enabling further investigation.

Designated appropriate authorities who implement the Act — like civil surgeons and health officers of municipal corporations — will probe the anomalies.

Patil said they would co-ordinate with eight neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Union Territories to prevent cross-border sex determination and female foeticide rackets. This will cover information sharing and protocols for a joint crackdown in border areas.

Maharashtra has around 7,600 sonography centres.

In May 2017, Sangli police arrested homeopath Babasaheb Khidrapure, after 19 foetuses were found dumped near Mhaisal village. In September, Solapur police arrested doctor couple Tejas and Priti Gandhi from Akluj for allegedly conducting sex determination and gender-selective abortions.

In 2012, revelations about sex determination and female foeticide by influential doctor couple Sudam and Saraswati Munde from Beed had shocked Maharashtra.

However, a radiologist noted that the authorities should focus on sting operations to nab medical practitioners involved in sex determination and female foeticide.

"We already upload details of every patient undergoing pre-natal diagnostic procedure. This will allow authorities scrutinise the data," he said, adding that they fear prospects of an "Inspector Raj" due to "unnecessary procedures".

Maharashtra's general sex ratio declined from 934 in 1991 to 922 in 2001, but marginally rose to 929 in 2011. In contrast, India's sex ratio increased from 927 in 1991 to 933 in 2011 and 940 in 2011. The Child Sex Ratio (CSR) (ratio of girls to boys between zero to six) fell from 946 in 1991 to 913 in 2001 and 894 in 2011, as against India's 946 in 1991, 927 in 2001 and 919 in 2011.

ACROSS BORDER

The nine talukas in Maharashtra with the lowest sex ratio at birth in 2016 include: Akkalkuwa (Nandurbar), Tala (Raigad), Mandangad (Ratnagiri), Phulambri (Aurangabad), Shirur Kasar (Beed), Dharmabad (Nanded), Seloo (Wardha), Mahagaon (Yavatmal) and Mulshi (Pune). The sex ratio at birth in Mumbai city and suburbs stands at 946 and 932 girls respectively being born per 1,000 boys, while the state's ratio is 904.

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