JOIN USUnion health and family welfare ministry on Wednesday expressed concern over dropping child sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the state government to take necessary steps to reverse the trend.
“The child sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir is alarming,” Union health secretary K D Raju said while addressing the national summit on Best Practices and Innovations in Public Healthcare System here.
The child sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir fell from 964 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 census to just 862 girls per 1,000 boys in 2011 Census.
“I do not worry so much about the fact that Punjab and Harayana have dismal figures but I do worry about the fact that Jammu and Kashmir has such figures,” Raju said.
He said the reprehensible practice of female feticide is not the one that is endorsed here.
“This is a matter of most urgent importance. Steps are needed to be taken to reverse this trend and agencies, which can help in this regard, need to be roped in,” he said.
Raju sought personal intervention of chief minister Omar Abdullah, who was the chief guest at the inaugural function, in dealing with the problem.