NAHARLAGUN, Nov 4: State nodal officer for preconception and prenatal diagnostic techniques, Dr P Dutta, has said the 2018-19 census shows that Arunachal’s child sex ratio has declined, and stressed on the need to address the issue at the earliest.
Speaking during a state-level review meeting of the State Health Society, the National Health Mission, and the family welfare directorate here on Monday, Dr Dutta made a presentation on the rules and regulations of the PC & PNDT (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, to be followed, as well as on proper usage of ultrasonography (USG) by USG handlers.
The meeting, which was chaired by Health Services Director Dr M Lego, was held to discuss the activities carried out under the PC & PNDT Act, and to sensitize the USG handlers of Papum Pare and the capital complex. Radiologists, gynaecologists, surgeons, USG handlers, the capital complex DMO, and officers of the family welfare department and the NHM attended it.
Dr Dutta informed that the MO of the capital complex “is the appropriate authority who has to ensure that the rules and regulations of the PC & PNDT Act and usage of USG machines are being maintained and implemented properly by the USG handlers of Papum Pare and the capital complex.”
Dr Lego in his address expressed concern over the decline in the child sex ratio of the state, and called for everyone to comply with the rules and regulations of the PC & PNDT Act and make it mandatory to fill up all formats/forms, besides registering the USG machines.
He exhorted the USG handlers to “always be updated and generate wider awareness on the importance of the PC & PNDT Act, in order to reach out to maximum targets.”
Health Services Joint Director (Family Welfare) Dr S Bhattacharjee, and gynaecologists Drs Jomson Bagra and Tomar Basar, along with Capital Complex DMO Dr Mandip Perme also spoke.
