Gujarat - Baffling ratio, girls versus boys

AHMEDABAD: The city administration may be celebrating the marginal rise in sex ratio, but dig deeper and the devil lies in the detail. The 2011 census reported the sex ratio for Ahmedabad in the 0-6 age group to be 859 girls against 1,000 boys. In 2011 and 2012, the municipal birth and death registrar recorded a sex ratio of 878 girls born against 1,000 boys.
A closer look at the ward-wise breakup of the sex ratio at birth would reveal a dip in sex ratio registered in several wards of the city. The industrial belt in the east and north has a lower sex ratio. Rakhial has the lowest sex ratio of 546 females born against 1,000 males, while the best sex ratio was in Danilimda 1,261 females for 1,000 males. When it comes to dip in sex ratio, at least 10 wards have registered a ratio anywhere between 673 and 815 girls against 1,000 boys. These areas include Rakhial, Odhav, Vastral, Saijpur Naroda, Khadia, Viratnagar and India Colony. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) officials are yet to investigate the reasons for the dip in numbers in these wards.

Maninagar ward has recorded the highest difference between the number of boys and girls born in any area in the city. In 2011, Maninagar ward reported 419 more boys born than girls. The following year, nearly 416 more boys were born than girls. What is disturbing is that in posh areas like Bodakdev and Chandkheda, the difference between boys and girls being born has doubled in the past two years. For instance, in Chandkheda, the difference increased from 103 more boys born in 2011 to 273 in 2012. In case of Bodakdev, the difference was 150 in 2011 and 259 in 2012. "This trend has to be analyzed in detail for these wards and that of Vejalpur. We will have to analyze the live birth data in each of the hospitals in these wards," says an AMC official.

"In case of Maninagar, this disparity between the sexes may be because of the more nursing homes in Maninagar. Besides, Danilimda which has recorded the best sex ratio is a neighbouring ward of Maninagar. In all probability, residents of Danilimda and neighbouring areas may be availing the facilities in Maninagar," says a senior AMC health official.

In 2012, some of the wards which recorded the highest sex ratio at birth were Danilimda, Dudheshwar, Behrampura, Shahpur and Dariapur. "Greater surveillance under the PNDT Act and ongoing e-Mamta programme have contributed to the improved sex ratio," added the official.

Source: http://to.ly/mdGp