COIMBATORE: More and more people are opting for sterilisation in Coimbatore district, reveal data from the Health and Family Welfare Department.
Officials say that sterilisation by both males and females have shown an increasing trend over the past three years. However, the number of men opting for sterilisation is far less than the women’s count in this Tamil Nadu district. This is in line with the general trend nationwide where the share of female sterilisation is much more than in the case of males. (See table.)
Speaking to TNIE, Dr M Gowri, Deputy Director of the Family Welfare Department for Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts, said awareness programmes and special camps conducted by them have paid off well.
“While women who get sterilised receive an incentive of Rs 600 from the government, the men who get sterilised are given an incentive of Rs 3,100 — this comprises Rs 1,100 from the government, Rs 1,000 by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) and Rs 1,000 by the Sri Devi Textiles, Coimbatore, as part of their CSR activities.
The incentive is higher for men to encourage them to undergo sterlisation as not many men do so,” she added. The less invasive No-Scalpel Vasectomy is getting popular among men as is the trend worldwide.
As per the 2011 Census, Coimbatore district has 9,58,035 households and a population of 34,58,045 of which 17,29,297 are males and 17,28748 are females. The population of children aged 0-6 as per the Census was 3,19,332 which is 9.23% of the total population. With the district witnessing rapid growth which no other district is experiencing in Tamil Nadu.
The population in Coimbatore district is expected to have crossed 42 lakh since the last Census. (The Census that was due in 2021 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.) This is a 20% growth over the 2011 Census figures.
The district has reported an average population spike of 17% in the 2001 Census and 18.5% in the 2011 Census, said sources. Accordingly, the district public health and family department officials have been taking several measures.