Neither do most people, it seems; since its inauguration last month, the helpline to receive complaints about sex determination tests has only received one call from Mumbai, which ironically has the lowest sex ratio in the state
Neither do most people, it seems; since its inauguration last month, the helpline to receive complaints about sex determination tests has only received one call from Mumbai, which ironically has the lowest sex ratio in the state
One. That is the number of calls received from Mumbai, the city with the lowest sex ratio in the state, to a helpline that registers complaints against illegal sex determination of the foetus.
The helpline 1800-233-4475 was inaugurated with great fanfare by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, in July this year.
A toll-free number that would receive complaints against the unlawful determination of the sex of the foetus, it was the brainchild of the state health department, which is desperately trying raise the plummeting sex ratio in the state.
Only 149 calls have been received by the helpline from across the state since its inauguration, of which only 41 callers registered genuine complaints.
Responding to the alarmingly skewed sex ratio in the state, the state health department had simultaneously launched the helpline and a website, www.amchimulgi.gov.in.
Both aim to create public awareness about the laws restricting determination and disclosure of the sex of a foetus, as laid down in the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT Act).
Of the 41 legitimate complaints received from different parts of the state, only one came from a caller in Mumbai.
The statistics make it amply clear that the city's apathy regarding the cause of the girl child has shown no sign of improving, despite the state health department's best efforts.
The helpline received nine calls from Beed district, and six each from Nanded and Jalgoan districts. According to the 2011 Census figures, Mumbai has the lowest sex ratio, with 838 females per 1,000 males.
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The ratio is no better for suburban Mumbai, where there are 857 females per 1,000 males. The situation is dismal in Thane as well, where the ratio is 880:1,000.
Officialspeak
"We are shocked that the helpline received just one call each from Mumbai and Thane, where the sex ratios give us greatest cause for concern.
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The CM himself inaugurated the helpline, and the event received extensive media coverage. The helpline has been publicised extensively, and details are available on our website as well.
In order to popularise it even further, we have placed a proposal before the health department to sanction a budget for print advisements," said Dr S C Gupta, additional director, Public Health and Family Welfare, Government of Maharashtra.
"We received a number of blank calls, and some had called the wrong number. Others called asking casually about the purpose of the helpline.
Some simply called us to congratulate us for inaugurating the helpline," said Dr A Khade, the assistant director of health at the Family Welfare Bureau.
"The helpline was instituted with the aim of registering complaints against prenatal sex determination.
Of the 41 complaints that we received, 26 have been addressed. Acting on the complaints received, we have already seized two sonography machines each from Jalgoan and Ahmednagar," added Gupta.
149
Total number of calls received by the helpline from across the state since its inauguration
Number Game
Girl-friendly districts
(Females per 1,000 males, according to the 2011 Census)
Ratnagiri: 1,123
Sindhudurg: 1,037
Gondiya: 996
Satara: 986
Bhandara: 984
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