Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 31: At the close of the year 2013, the State of Jammu and Kashmir has, notwithstanding its tall claims to protect the rights of women, achieved yet another dubious distinction of recording an alarming decline in child sex ratio to reach the bottom of the list among all the Indian States with just Haryana and Punjab behind it.
This was stated here today by BJP National Executive Member & chief spokesperson of the State, Dr Jitendra Singh who, while citing figures to highlight the progressive decline, said that J&K was better off with 963 females every thousand in 1981 but it gradually dropped to 941 females in 2001 and dipped further to 862 females in 2011. He went on to elaborate that seven out of ten districts in Kashmir Valley have lost more than a hundred females every thousand and ironically, the Chief Minister’s Constituency district Ganderbal has also registered a downward trend with minus -151.
Overall, he added, all the 22 districts of State have witnessed decrease in the number of female children with Pulwama topping the list with the loss of 217 female children per thousand followed by Budgam with a significant fall of 172 even though at one time, these two districts were on the top as the best performing districts with 1046 and 1004 female children per thousand respectively in 2001.
Dr Jitendra Singh pointed out that there is a comparatively lesser decline in Jammu province even though there is a definite decline recorded with Poonch (-66), Kishtwar (-53), Ramban (-43), Rajouri (-40), Reasi (-33),Udhampur (-26),Doda (-26),Jammu (-24), Samba (-19) and Kathua witnessing the minimum loss.
He said, while female foeticide is believed to be the key factor responsible for this phenomenon, in the last over 15 years, J&K has witnessed a mushroom growth of illegally operated imaging centers, ultra-sonography laboratories and abortion clinics. With the authorities turning a blind eye, their trade has survived many a ‘news making raids’ and crack downs, he added.
The irony is, observed Dr Jitendra Singh, that poor enforcement of State’s own J&K Pre-conception and Prenatal Sex Selection/Determination (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 2002, has made sex determination tests and abortion a rather high-profit business in J&K.
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