ROURKELA: The tribal-dominated Sundargarh district has recorded a significant rise in the sex ratio over the last two years with the birth rate of girls per 1,000 boys going up to 957 in 2024 from 911 in 2022.
According to official statistics, the birth rate of girls per 1,000 boys was 933.6 in 2018, 919.2 in 2019, 935.8 in 2020 and 943.3 in 2021. After a gradual rise till 2021, the birth rate drastically dropped to 911 in 2022 but rose again to 931 in 2023.
The next year in 2024, the number of girls taking birth improved to 957. In 2024, the district reported birth of 14,755 boys compared to 14,122 girls with 12,794 institutional and 1,328 domiciliary deliveries of female children.
Sources in the health administration said the average birth rate of girls in Sundargarh would have improved further in 2024 but for the poor performance of four pockets in the district.
The community health centres (CHCs) in Kutra and Hemgir blocks along with the ones at Laing in Rajgangpur and Mangaspur in Lefripada recorded deliveries of 850 to 900 girls per 1,000 boys last year.
They said one of the possible reasons for the low birth rate of girls in these four pockets could be termination of pregnancies in neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand after determination of the sex of foetuses.
Incidentally on Wednesday, a meeting of the district consultative committee and task force on Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act convened under the chairmanship of Sundargarh collector Manoj S Mahajan reviewed the functioning of ultrasound testing facilities, and their monitoring, registration and renewal.
The collector laid thrust on taking appropriate measures at the grassroots level and strengthening awareness to improve the scenario in pockets showing low birth rate of girls.
Chief district medical and public health officer Dr Guru Prasad Mahanta said the target is to bring the four pockets with low birth rate of girl children at par with the district average.
The antenatal registrations are done in three stages. The ANMs and ASHAs of these pockets would be instructed to increase first registration of antenatal cases for effective monitoring and also enhance awareness, he added.