KRISHNAGIRI: Krishnagiri Health Unit District (HUD) has achieved a sex ratio of 1,010 females for every 1,000 males over the past four months. The district's sex ratio has steadily increased from 868 in 2015-2016 to 989 between April 2024 and March 2025. Since April 2025, it has risen to 1,010 and is expected to remain consistent by the end of the financial year.
Speaking to TNIE, Krishnagiri District Health Officer Dr G Ramesh Kumar said, "The district, with its 61 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and 270 Health Sub-Centres, organized stakeholder meetings at the block and district levels with health staff, including village health nurses and anganwadi workers. Over the past two years, they analyzed a decade's worth of data and conducted nine decoy operations in Krishnagiri, Tirupathur, Salem, and even Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, which led to the arrest of quacks performing sex determination."
Dr Ramesh also said that Collector C Dinesh Kumar is working to arrest those involved in sex determination and plans to invoke the Goondas Act against them and their intermediaries.
"Scan centres in districts were asked to install CCTVs, subsequently it was installed. The former Krishnagiri Collector, KM Sarayu, established special committees composed of social welfare, revenue, health, and anganwadi departments to monitor the issue," Dr Ramesh added.
"While some registered doctors were allegedly involved in sex determination, they were warned and let off due to a lack of evidence. Additionally, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine directed all DHOs to inspect scan centers to strengthen the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. This inspection revealed that one center in Krishnagiri was not maintaining proper records," he added.
This success has placed Krishnagiri first in the state, followed by Tenkasi HUD with a sex ratio of 1,004 and Nagercoil HUD at 988. The Chief Secretary, N Muruganandam, publicly commended the Krishnagiri health team and the collector for their efforts.