Sex ratio at birth sees gradual improvement in Kurukshetra

After recording a drop in sex ratio at birth (SRB), which was recorded to be 893 in 2022, compared to the sex ratio of 921 in 2021, the sex ratio has seen a gradual improvement in Kurukshetra district.

The SRB in Kurukshetra was recorded to be 921 in 2021, but it witnessed a major fall and was recorded to be 893 in 2022. However, since then, the SRB has been improving gradually. In 2023, the SRB was 906, and it increased to 913 in 2024 and till June this year the SRB was recorded to be 919. Though it has reached near to the SRB of 2021 (921), there is still a long way to go to for the district to match the SRB of 2020, when it was recorded to be 938, which was the highest since 2012.

The health authorities believe that regular checks and raids have been helping in improving the SRB. As per the data shared by the Health Department, it has tightened its noose around violators of the PCPNDT Act and MTP Act. Health officials have caught 95 persons in 31 raids since 2021. It has not only raided within the district, but has also conducted raids in neighbouring districts (Ambala, Kaithal and Yamunanagar) and states (Punjab and Uttar Pradesh) as well.

While a watch is being kept on the hospitals, the door-step services being given by the accused has been another challenge for the authorities. In June this year, the department had nabbed two accused Sukhdev and Akash, who conducted the test at the decoy’s house with a portable machine. Accused Akash had disclosed that he had bought the ultrasound machine illegally for Rs 50,000 from a resident of Uttar Pradesh. There were already two cases against Sukhdev and three cases against Akash.

An official in the department said all precautions were taken to ensure that life of the decoy and child were not in danger. Since the accused have been giving door-step services for such tests, it has become more challenging for the department to keep a check on such people.

Deputy Civil Surgeon, Kurukshetra, and Nodal Officer for the pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques (PCPNDT) Act, Dr Ramesh Sabharwal said, “The Health Department has been making sincere efforts to improve the SRB for which a close watch is being kept on the people who were involved in sex determination test rackets. A collective effort is required to further improve the SRB. People should change their mindset and treat girls and boy equally. We also appeal to the general public to alert the department whenever they come to know about those people involved in such illegal activities.”

“Teams of the Health Department have been conducting surprise checks to ensure that there is no misuse of MTP kits at any hospital. Some people are repeated offenders. There are some touts from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, too, who take the women for tests, but continuous efforts are being made to break the nexus”, he added.

District Civil Surgeon Dr Sukhbir Singh said, “Whenever a tip-off regarding any person involved in a sex determination is received, our team starts obtaining more information, a contact is established with the touts and a decoy is arranged, to trap the violators. Clear directions have been given to the ASHAs and ANMs to ensure earliest ANC (antenatal care) registration of pregnant women and their continuous follow ups. A close watch is being kept on the registered ultrasound centres and MTP (medical termination of pregnancy) centres. A registration of one MTP centre has been cancelled after irregularities were observed.”

To a query, he said, “Use of portable ultrasound machine has been a challenge as people use the portable machines at unregistered places to conduct the tests. However, a close watch is being kept on such activities and last month a machine was recovered after a raid in Kurukshetra.”