Punjab sets in motion campaign to check female foeticide

The Punjab government today kick-started an aggressive campaign to check female foeticide and infanticide under which intensive vigil has been ordered on the functioning of ultrasound centres in the State.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister, Surjit Kumar Jayani said that directions had been issued to all the Health officers including civil surgeons to keep an eye on ultrasound centres that illegally carrying out sex determination tests.
He said that strict action would be taken against doctors indulging in illegal practice and also ordered immediate sealing of such centres.
Jayani has also asked the officers concerned to initiate a rigorous campaign to ensure strict enforcement of the PNDT Act and ensure a strict compliance to the awareness generation activities undertaken in Punjab.

Taking stock of the ongoing centrally sponsored schemes and programmes in the state, the Minister, according to an official release here, said that "the Punjab government would get a district-wise survey done to identify the exact sex ratio across the state and would take adequate steps to improve the male-female ratio wherever a decline is recorded."
He also said that the Punjab government has come up with action plans for village level, block level as well as district level so that the number of girl children registered and their educational levels also go up.
Quoting statistics, the Minister, according to the release, further said that "apparently the sex ratio at birth has improved in Punjab to 893 females per 1,000 males as compared to the neighbouring Haryana state where it was recorded as 879 females per 1000 males..".

The Punjab health minister, meanwhile, urged religious leaders to come forward and help in changing the mindset of the society towards the girl child.