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PC&PNDT Act violation: 22 ultrasound centres sealed in Patna as IMA rallies behind docs

Jun 11, 2023 10:34 PM IST

Some centres were operational despite the expiry of the validity of the registration licence, some had shifted to other locations, while a few could not be located.

PATNA: The Patna district administration has sealed 22 ultrasound diagnostic centres for violations under the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) [PC&PNDT] Act by Saturday, even as the Bihar chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) took up cudgels for doctors operating such centres after the state government launched a crackdown last month on illegal centres and those operating in violation of norms in light of declining sex ratio in the state.

Among the 22 ultrasound centres sealed, nine are in Patna City subdivision, seven in Paliganj, three in Barh, two in Masaurhi and one in Patna Sadar subdivision, said Patna DM. (HT Photo)
Among the 22 ultrasound centres sealed, nine are in Patna City subdivision, seven in Paliganj, three in Barh, two in Masaurhi and one in Patna Sadar subdivision, said Patna DM. (HT Photo)

“As many as 22 ultrasound centres have been sealed and we are in the process of taking action against 46 others for different violations under PC & PNDT Act after having inspected 532 ultrasound centres and diagnostic clinics in Patna between May 29 and June 9. We have received investigation reports of 505 centres so far, and our action will continue against the errant ones,” Chandra Shekhar Singh, Patna’s district magistrate (DM) said on Sunday.

“Among the 22 ultrasound centres sealed, nine are in Patna City subdivision, seven in Paliganj, three in Barh, two in Masaurhi and one in Patna Sadar subdivision,” said Singh.

The Patna DM had entrusted the responsibility to check all such centres to respective sub-divisional magistrates.

“The joint inspection teams, comprising magistrates, medical officers, and police officials, had made certain observations against 91 of the 532 ultrasound centres and diagnostic facilities inspected in Patna,” said Dr. Shrawan Kumar, Patna’s civil surgeon.

Among the diagnostic centres sealed, some did not have regular doctors, like the one in Paliganj, where the doctor had confessed to his presence at the ultrasound centre only three days a week, while the remaining days he was in Patna, said Dr. Kumar.

Some centres were operational despite the expiry of the validity of the registration licence, some had shifted to other locations, while a few could not be located. There were many centres which were found to be closed at the time of inspection. Some either did not have proper documentation or could not show the required papers at the time of inspection.

“We will send the list of ultrasound centres sealed to the chief judicial magistrate’s court on Monday,” Dr Kumar said.

Meanwhile, the IMA on Saturday wrote to the state health brass urging him to take a lenient view against centres with trivial violations, like absence of registered doctor at the time of inspection.

“We have appealed on Saturday to the additional chief secretary, health, Pratyaya Amrit, not to seal ultrasound centres, having registered qualified doctor(s) (radiologist), who were not present during the time of the surprise inspection carried out by the district administration,” said Dr Ajay Kumar, convenor of the Action Committee of the IMA Bihar chapter and also its former acting president.

“Four separate investigating teams of the Patna district administration have noted in their inspection reports that doctors were not present during inspection in as many as five among the 61 ultrasound centres inspected in Patna recently. Since these were surprise inspections, all such ultrasound centres having qualified doctors, who were not present during inspection, should be given another chance to respond, giving evidence in support of their claim, before the government decides to seal them,” said Dr Kumar.

“While we support the government action against illegal ultrasound centres, we have requested it to give those with trivial violations another opportunity,” he added.

Bihar’s sex ratio at birth, which is the number of female children to male, has declined from 934 per 1,000 males in National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 (data period 2015-16) to 908 in NFHS-5 (2019-20) though the national average has improved from 919 to 929 during the same period. This pointed to pre-natal sex determination through ultrasound centres, prompting the state government to take urgent action against the illegal ones as well as those not conforming to PC & PNDT Act. There were indications enough that pre-natal sex determination was leading to female foeticide in a society where a male child is preferred over female, said a doctor not willing to be named.

Interestingly, Haryana, infamous for female foeticide, had shown an improvement in sex ratio from 836 to 893 during NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, respectively.

At least 21 of Bihar’s 38 districts, including Patna, registered a negative growth rate in terms of sex ratio at birth.

Patna registered a drop in female childbirth from 1,017 in NFHS-4 to 1,002 in NFHS-5, as per data.

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