Chittoor’s Alarming Sex Ratio Sparks Crackdown on Illegal Gender Tests
The collector Sumit Kumar emphasised that malnutrition indicators — such as pregnant women not collecting Anganwadi nutritional supplements — should have flagged at-risk pregnancies, but even those are being ignored
Nellore: With only 947 females for every 1,000 males, Chittoor district is grappling with a disturbing gender imbalance — one of the lowest in the state. This worsening sex ratio has triggered urgent action from district officials, including a recent raid led by collector Sumit Kumar, where a team from Tamil Nadu was caught red-handed conducting illegal sex determination tests in a private residence.
The raid has thrown light on a growing menace: unauthorised gender detection and illegal abortions, particularly in border areas like Nagari, Palamaner, Punganur, and V. Kota, where cross-border medical teams are allegedly operating unchecked.
At a high-level meeting of the PCPNDT district advisory committee, the collector came down heavily on the health and ICDS departments for failing to detect and curb these violations. He questioned why, despite the presence of ASHA, ANMs, and Anganwadi workers at the field level, there is no proper tracking of pregnant women, especially in cases where the first two children are girls.
“Departments are clearly not talking to each other,” he said. “Why don’t we have this information? Why are these violations going unnoticed?”
He called out the lack of coordination between health and women's welfare departments, pointing out that no joint review meetings have been held in years. The collector emphasised that malnutrition indicators — such as pregnant women not collecting Anganwadi nutritional supplements — should have flagged at-risk pregnancies, but even those are being ignored.
The situation is dire. If illegal abortions continue, he warned, the district’s already skewed sex ratio could drop even further.
He instructed the DM&HO to conduct division-wise meetings with RMP doctors, ensure field-level inspections, and strictly monitor drug sales, emphasising that no medicines should be sold without a prescription. He also called for surveillance on the sale of ultrasound machines after reports surfaced about unauthorised equipment being used for prenatal gender detection.
The meeting was attended by key officials, including DM&HO Dr Sudharani, ICDS P.D. Venkateswari, DIO Hanumantha Rao, superintendent Dr Ushasri, drugs inspector Keerthana, and officers from the women’s police station.
“Saving the girl child is everyone’s responsibility,” the collector concluded, vowing continued raids and stricter enforcement going forward.