Punjab’s Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr Balbir Singh, has ordered strict compliance of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) act in the state to address the low sex ratio in certain districts. The Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government has taken serious note of the issue and instructed health authorities to take appropriate measures to improve the sex ratio.
The worst-performing district in terms of sex ratio is Gurdaspur, with a ratio of 887 compared to the state average of 926. To address this, an inter-district team of health officials has been constituted to carry out detailed inspections of all the ultrasound scan facilities in Gurdaspur.
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Health Workers have been given strict instructions to register a pregnancy within the first trimester to reduce the chance of any sex selection. Efforts by the Health Department have resulted in ten districts in Punjab having a higher sex ratio than the state average, with districts SBS Nagar and Rupnagar topping the list with a ratio of 948 and 946 respectively.
The Health Department is also carrying out frequent decoy operations to ensure that no ultrasound scan centres are violating the PC-PNDT act. If any scan centre is found violating the provisions of the act, the Punjab Government will immediately cancel its registration. Additionally, the Department is carrying out awareness activities to change the behaviour and mindset of people so that they do not have any prejudice against the girl child.
Newborn girls in hospitals across Punjab are being given gifts on the occasion of Lohri and Navratras to celebrate their birth. The Health Department has also organised a state-level Lohri function in Patiala this year to celebrate the girl child. Seminars and awareness activities are being conducted throughout the year to address the issue of low sex ratio in certain districts of Punjab.
