Mandya district records lowest birth sex ratio in Karnataka, study shows
Mandya: Despite awareness campaigns and programmes by both the central and state governments to protect the girl child, Mandya district continues to report the lowest child sex ratio (0–6 years) in Karnataka, according to a recent Child Rights Index report released by the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR).
The study, cited by The New Indian Express on Sunday, identifies several districts in the state with low sex ratios at birth, including Mandya, Bagalkot, Bidar, Chikkaballapur, and Kalaburagi, with ratios below 900 in certain years. India’s SDG Index, in comparison, targets a sex ratio at birth of 950 females per 1,000 males.
Mandya has consistently witnessed a low sex ratio over the past four years: 884 in 2020, 873 in 2021, 877 in 2022, and 887 in 2023. Other districts fared slightly better in 2023, with Bagalkot at 919, Bidar 920, Kalaburagi 910, and Chikkaballapur 937, although most of these districts had ratios below 900 in 2022.
The study, conducted by S. Madheswaran and B.P. Vani of the Institute for Social and Economic Change, notes that the child sex ratio in Karnataka was relatively stable until 2011 but has declined to 916 during 2018–20. Historically, the ratio dropped from 975 in 1981 to 946 in 2001, inched up to 948 in 2011, and fell again in recent years.
The study cites sex-selective abortions, imbalance at birth, and excess female infant mortality as key contributors. “There are various factors responsible for low female ratio, including gender-based differences in feeding practices, healthcare-seeking behaviour, and differences in immunisation rates between boys and girls,” states the report. Additionally, declining fertility rates and reduced family sizes influence overall sex ratios.
Venkatesh, a KSCPCR member in Mandya, highlighted the difficulty in tracking illegal abortion centres. In one instance, an ultrasound facility operating inside a jaggery factory reportedly referred patients to abortion centres.
“After doing an ultrasound, they referred these patients to various abortion centres. When we come across issues like female infanticide, we inspect the place and, on finding evidence, we report to the police. However, the issue is still a matter of concern,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
Venkatesh added that authorities do not want Mandya to be known as a centre for female infanticide and noted that the practice continues, particularly when parents want their first child to be a son or do not want a second girl child.
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Karnataka: Indigo disruption forces newlyweds to attend reception online
Hubballi (Karnataka) (PTI): The venue was all decked up and a delicious spread ready for the invitees. But Megha Ksheerasagar and Sangam Das could not be present for their own wedding reception, thanks to the national flight disruptions that has sent many passengers across the country into a tizzy.
The newlyweds' reception was fixed here on December 3, but the couple was forced to attend their grand event only via video conference due to the disruptions in top carrier Indigo's operations, mainly due to crew woes.
Not meaning to miss the important day, the couple appeared on a large screen at the venue through video conferencing from Bhubaneswar, greeted the guests and apologised for not being personally present.
Instead, the bride's parents graced the occasion at the scheduled reception venue--Gujarat Bhavan, here, on behalf of the couple that had tied the knot on November 23 in Odisha's Bhubaneswar.
According to the family, the couple, both software engineers, work in Bengaluru. The reception was arranged at the bride's native place in Hubballi on Wednesday.
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To be part of their special day, the couple had booked tickets on the Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru-Hubballi route for December 2. Some relatives had booked tickets on the Bhubaneswar-Mumbai-Hubballi route. However, due to operational disruptions, IndiGo flights were continuously delayed from 9 am on December 2 until early morning on December 3, and were eventually cancelled.
"My daughter's wedding happened on November 23 and we had organised a reception at our native place in Hubballi for people here. The flight kept getting delayed and at the last moment, at around 4 am, it got cancelled. Now what could we do after that. We had to come up with some solution. Then I decided to do the reception online. I immediately arranged for a screen and asked my daughter and son-in-law to join the reception online," the bride's father Anil Kumar Ksheerasagar told PTI Videos.
He urged the central government to take corrective measures so that public, being the tax payers, don't suffer.
"What the problem with IndiGo is, we don't know. My daughter and son-in-law were supposed to come via an IndiGo flight but that got cancelled. IndiGo alone can't be blamed. The government must understand that it is in case of emergencies that people prefer flights. Some measures need to be taken to resolve this issue. When the PM's flight gets cancelled, he is taken by helicopter. Why is the same not done for us, the common people. We also have emergencies, don't we. The government must think of this, and if they ignore public woes, they should remember that we are also VIPs because we pay tax."
Relatives had come for the reception from across the country--Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bagalkote, Davangere and Belagavi.
"I didn't know what to do as relatives and guests had come from so many places. I was stressed, but then I quickly decided to do it online," Ksheerasagar said.
As the couple could not travel to Hubballi, the bride's parents sat in place of the newly-weds at the reception venue and conducted the rituals, while the bride and groom, dressed up in Bhubaneswar, attended their grand reception online.
