'Population growth rate of Udupi stands at 5.9 pc'

District Health Officer Dr Ramchandra Bairy said that Udupi district has low annual growth rate in the country with 5.9 per cent.

Speaking at the World Population Day celebrations organised jointly by Zilla Panchayat and District Health Department, the DHO said besides Udupi, two districts in Kerala also have recorded least annual growth in the country.

In 2001 census, the population of the district was 11.12 lakh, while the population recorded in 2011 census report is around 11.77 lakh. In the time span of 10 years, there is only 65,000 increase in the population of the district. Consequently, the country recorded 21.8 per cent growth rate, while Karnataka registered 18.8 per cent growth rate respectively in 10 years, he added.

Expressing concern over the alarming sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 years, the DHO said the less number of girl children in the age group of 0-6 is a matter of concern. As per 2001 census report, the district recorded 958 girl child in the age group of 0-6 as against the 1,000 male children. Accordingly, the sex ratio registered in 2011 census is 1000:955. There are 955 girl children for 1000 male children. This alarming situation calls for immediate measures. Priority should be given to girl education and empowerment of girls, he added.

The DHO added that there is nearly 40 per cent populace in unproductive category. The unproductive category comprises of children in the age group of 0-15 and elderly people aged above 60. There are nearly 33 per cent of children in the age group 0-15 and there are nearly 7.3 per cent of elderly people. These populace are highly dependent on others for livelihood.

Stating that the population in the world during first century AD was around 20 crore, the DHO added that the population reached 100 crore in 1804. Subsequently the world recorded 500 crore populace on July 11, 1987. In 1999, the population increased to 600 crore and in June 2013, the population of the world is around 715 crore. It is expected that by 2015 the population of the world may reach 800 crore, he said.

Speaking after inaugurating the programme, Udupi ZP President Upendra Nayak said it is heartening to observe that Udupi district is the role model in the country. There is a need for the family planning measures to reach all sections in the society. Most of the time, illiteracy plays a major role in population explosion, he added.