Tracking devices on sonography machines

Mumbai: In a bid to curb the menace of illegal sex determination, devices such as active trackers and silent observers will be put on sonography machines in all private, government and civic-run hospitals. The state women's commission had put forth the demand in the wake of the illegal abortion racket being busted in Mhaisal village on March 5 this year.

The data collected after installation of these tracking devices will be handed over to the state health department. According to the chairperson of the state women’s commission, tracking will enable the department to ascertain which machine was used and when for illegal sex determination.

The Maharashtra government is following in the footsteps of the Madhya Pradesh government in installing GPS-enabled tracking devices in ultrasound machines. As per a state health department report, the ratio of newborn girls per 1,000 boys went down from 907 in 2015 to 899 in 2016. The pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostics testing (PCPNDT) Act prohibits doctors from revealing the sex of a foetus.

President of the state women’s commission VijayaRahatkar said, “I personally visited the project in Indore, saw the active tracker devices and their functions. I felt it was the need of the hour so I recommended to the state government.”

The state women’s commission took the decision after the Mhaisal incident earlier this year where 19 aborted female foetuses were discovered in a sewer next to Khidrapure’s private clinic.The meeting with dignitaries on August 23 will be helmed by the minister of state for women and child development; minister of rural development; and topmost bureaucrats.

Trackers will be installed on all ultrasound machines, both in private and government hospitals. These devices are supposed to record all images that ultrasound machines generate in real time.