Child Sex Ratio Drops in Himachal

Y.S. Rana

The writer is a Hamirpur based Himachali settled in Chandigarh

The country is content with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ abhiyan. But the road ahead is uncertain. Aimed at ensuring the survival, protection and education of the girl child, the idea is noble but it has not been able to beget awareness regarding waning child sex ratio, if the recent report of NITI Aayog is of any indication. The report released by the Aayog stressed upon the need to keep a tab on sex-selective abortion. It says that girl-to-boy sex ratio at birth has declined in 17 states out of 21 large states pointing their failure to curb the selective abortion of female foetus after illegal sex disclosure.

Himachal Pradesh, too, has witnessed a drop of 14 points in the sex ratio at birth (SRB). While the state had registered child sex ratio of 938 points in 2012-14, now it has dropped to 924 points. Though it is above national average of 900 points, yet it may be a matter of concern for the Health Department in future. Punjab remains the only state in the region which has recorded rise in child sex ratio. On the other hand, Haryana ranked second across the country where SRB dropped to 35 points. The SRB in Haryana has been below to 2005-07 of 843 points. Jammu and Kashmir has registered no change in SRB. At national level SRB has also registered a drop of 6 points. The report revealed that Gujarat has recorded maximum dip of 53 points across the country followed by Haryana which saw a drop of 35 points compared to last report.

Himachal Pradesh, too, has witnessed a drop of 14 points in the sex ratio at birth (SRB). The report also states the improvement in SRB was witnessed in Punjab, which has registered a rise of 19 points, followed by Uttar Pradesh 10 points and Bihar 9 points. Even ‘poor’ states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have shown better off than Himachal Pradesh in matter of sex ratio.

According to the report, from the 17 states which have registered a considerable drop of 10 points or more, in Gujarat the sex ratio dropped to 864 females from 907 females per 1000 males born thus recorded a drop of 53 points from 2012-14 (base year) to 2013-15 (reference year) in this indicator.

“There is a clear need for states to effectively implement the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 and take appropriate measures to promote the value of the girl child,” the report stated.

Poor Performers

According to report Gujarat performed most poorly where the sex ratio dropped to 864 females from 907 females per 1000 males born thus recording a drop of 53 points from 2012-14 (base year) to 2013-15 (reference year) in this indicator. Gujarat was followed by Haryana, which registered a drop of 35 points, Rajasthan (32 points), Uttarakhand (27 points), Maharashtra (18 points), Himachal Pradesh (14 points), Chhattisgarh (drop of 12 points) and Karnataka (11 points).

Bihar, UP Better Than Himachal

The report also states the improvement in SRB was witnessed in Punjab, which has registered a rise of 19 points, followed by Uttar Pradesh (10 points) and Bihar (9 points). The states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have shown better than Himachal Pradesh in the matter of sex ratio.

What Is Sex Ratio?

Sex ratio is the proportion of females to males in a given population, usually expressed as the number of females per 1000 males at a specific stage in life, especially at conception, birth and a given stage between birth and death. Sex ratio at birth is an important indicator and reflects the extent to which there is reduction in number of girl children born by sex-selective abortions.

Startling Facts

* NITI Aayog report says that girl-to-boy sex ratio at birth has declined in 17 states out of 21 large states

* Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a drop of 14 points in the sex ratio at birth (SRB).  The child sex ratio here dropped from 938 points in 2012-14 to 924 points in 2013-15

* Punjab remains the only state in the region which has recorded rise in child sex ratio

* Haryana ranked second across the country where SRB dropped to 35 points

* Jammu and Kashmir has registered no change in SRB

Himachal-o-Meter

The state’s ups and downs this week

SJVN Pays Dividend Of Rs. 200.45 Crore   

Shimla: Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited paid an interim dividend of Rs. 200.45 crore to the Government of Himachal Pradesh, holding 25.5% equity in the company. A cheque amounting to Rs. 200, 45, 28,210 was handed over to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur by Chairman-cum- Managing Director (CMD), SJVN Limited Nand Lal Sharma. The SJVN CMD informed that Himachal Pradesh invested an equity of Rs. 1055 crore and with this dividend payment, SJVN has paid a cumulative dividend of Rs.1464 crore to Himachal Pradesh Government till date. Sharma apprised the Chief Minister that till date the two projects of SJVN namely 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station & 412 MW Rampur Hydro Power Station have generated around 1,00,776 million units of electricity, out of which 12,093 million units of electricity has been provided to the State free of cost. During current financial year, SJVN has generated about 9008 million units of electricity from these two projects out of which 1080 million units have been supplied to the State free of cost.

Fire Incidents Result in Huge Loss Of Property

Shimla: Huge loss of property was reported in three fire incidents that occurred at different places in Himachal. In the first fire incident at Lamwadi Dogi village in Dodra Kawar area in Shimla district, five houses were gutted in fire while 161 goat and sheep, four cows, four oxen and two calves were also burnt alive. Five families were affected in this fire incident. In another incident at Lohar panchayat in Sundernagar, a fire incident due to short-circuiting turned a two storey slate house into ashes. A loss of about five lakh rupees has been estimated in this fire incident. In the third fire incident at Jabli village in Bharara gram panchayat of Theog sub-division, a two storey building was gutted in the fire. The fire incident turned 16 rooms of the house into ashes and a person also received burn injuries in the incident. The injured person was admitted in IGMC Shimla.

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