The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Scanning machine producers will come under the scanner

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 18, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Scanning machine producers will come under the scanner

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, AUG. 17. Manufacturers who supply scanning machines to pre-natal diagnostic and scanning centres will come under scrutiny as part of the Government's efforts to check foeticide and female infanticide, S.R. Reddy, Senior Regional Director, Health and Family Welfare, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, told The Hindu here today.

The manufacturers would be held responsible if they sold the machines to wrong persons or unregistered scanning centres.

``The manufacturers, if they sell the scanning machines to scan centres, will have to inform the Health and Family Welfare department, so that the authorities could know where the scanning facility is available and whether it is done as per rules.''

Dr. Reddy said there were still some pockets where infanticide and foeticide were rampant, resulting in an adverse sex ratio. Dharmapuri, Salem, Namakkal and Madurai districts would receive special attention in implementation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 and Rules, 1996.

Powers were delegated to district-level health officials to book cases wherever the scan centres violated the government norms.

Sex ratio

Tamil Nadu would have to improve the present ratio of 978 females for every 1,000 males as per the 2001 census, Dr. Reddy said. A fall in sex ratio would lead to socio-economic problems.

The guiding principle of family welfare programmes was to end sex-related abortions. Awareness programmes should be conducted at the village-level with the help of voluntary organisations and women self-help groups.

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