Punjab is set to become the first state to opt for unique indigenously developed ultra sound tracking technology device called “silent observer” (SIOB) which will keep a tab on illegal sex determination.
Ever since the recent Census report has highlighted that 1.36 lakh girls have “disappeared” during the last decade, the government wants to ensure strict monitoring of sex determination tests as part of its “save the girl child” census.
Punjab has one of the worst child sex ratio at 846.
The silent observer, similar to a pen drive, is attached to a sonography machine to monitor ultrasound tests and record sonography images.
The device captures and stores images of each sonograpy test conducted on pregnant women.
It maintains a log of pregnancy tests done in a year and was introduced on a trial basis in Kolhapur.
Last year, the Kolhapur district collector, Mr Laxmikant Deshmukh, had made it mandatory for all ultrasound machines to install the silent observer in Kolhapur district and this helped improve the reporting of ultrasound by 34 per cent.
Although only 231 out of the 270 centres in Kolhapur were willing to install the silent observer at a cost of `28,000, Mr Laxmikant Deshmukh claimed that it had an immediate impact in improving the sex ratio in his district which went up from 839 per 1,000 boys in May 2010 to 876 in January 2011. The radiologists association of Maharashtra had challenged Mr Deshmukh’s decision to install SIOB in the Mumbai high court but the court has recently ruled that the SIOB is not an invasion of privacy and has made it mandatory for all sonography centres to install these devices.
The state of Haryana is also considering purchase of these devices and Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are expected to follow suit.
The Maharashtra state government had asked a high-level committee to study the success rate of SIOB.