GUWAHATI, June 23 – If government records are any indication, then Assam’s biggest city could be witnessing fewer births of females compared to males, a fact also noticed in the urban and rural areas of Kamrup district .
Offices registering births and deaths hint that for some time now more birth certificates have been issued to male babies than females. The Ulubari office that covers births and deaths in a large area in the heart of the city showed that from January to May this year, it was only in February that more female births were registered. In that month 128 female babies were registered while male births totalled 122.
In January, the birth of 110 male babies was registered, whereas the number of female babies was 100. In March, births of 104 male babies were registered while births of only 80 female babies were reported. The next month registration showed 140 males and 133 females being born. The gap widened further in May when 118 males were born and the number of females dipped to 80.
Records in private nursing homes are compatible with government data. In a nursing home in the city’s Bamunimaidan area, 13 males were born in May but the number of females was four. In one of the oldest nursing homes in the city, during the period spanning May 1 to 15, a total of 23 births took place of which just eight were girls.
Sources in the office say that the figures are credible as people have become aware of the need for registration of births and deaths, and more institutional deliveries were taking place.
The trend of fewer girls being born is witnessed in large parts of Kamrup district. Data maintained at the district level revealed that in Kamrup rural district, a total of 1,405 birth registrations took place in 17 registration centres. Among the new-borns were 620 females against 785 males.
A matter of concern could be the situation in the Kamrup (Metro) district, where in the month of May registration of births showed 970 males but only 408 females.
A senior doctor at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital said that though the situation is not alarming, it might further make the sex ratio of the region more pronounced. “A sex ratio that is not in favour of girls could also affect the demographic profile in the long run,” he said. It may be mentioned that the sex ratio in the State is 935, while for the country it is 933.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jun2409/City
Offices registering births and deaths hint that for some time now more birth certificates have been issued to male babies than females. The Ulubari office that covers births and deaths in a large area in the heart of the city showed that from January to May this year, it was only in February that more female births were registered. In that month 128 female babies were registered while male births totalled 122.
In January, the birth of 110 male babies was registered, whereas the number of female babies was 100. In March, births of 104 male babies were registered while births of only 80 female babies were reported. The next month registration showed 140 males and 133 females being born. The gap widened further in May when 118 males were born and the number of females dipped to 80.
Records in private nursing homes are compatible with government data. In a nursing home in the city’s Bamunimaidan area, 13 males were born in May but the number of females was four. In one of the oldest nursing homes in the city, during the period spanning May 1 to 15, a total of 23 births took place of which just eight were girls.
Sources in the office say that the figures are credible as people have become aware of the need for registration of births and deaths, and more institutional deliveries were taking place.
The trend of fewer girls being born is witnessed in large parts of Kamrup district. Data maintained at the district level revealed that in Kamrup rural district, a total of 1,405 birth registrations took place in 17 registration centres. Among the new-borns were 620 females against 785 males.
A matter of concern could be the situation in the Kamrup (Metro) district, where in the month of May registration of births showed 970 males but only 408 females.
A senior doctor at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital said that though the situation is not alarming, it might further make the sex ratio of the region more pronounced. “A sex ratio that is not in favour of girls could also affect the demographic profile in the long run,” he said. It may be mentioned that the sex ratio in the State is 935, while for the country it is 933.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jun2409/City
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