Fortis Hospital holds awareness programme

Amritsar : A medical team of Forits Escorts Hospital, in collaboration with ML Memorial College today, held an awareness programme at Muddal village, wherein they spread awareness against the social evil of female feticide. Dr Gaurav Thukral, deputy medical superintendent of the hospital, while speaking on the occasion, said, “The gender ratio in India, far from stabilising or self-correcting, has been dropping continuously for years, standing now (as per the last census) at 927 girls per 1,000 boys. One out of five girls dies before attaining the age of five.” The medical team also examined the women and children to mark the occasion and educated them about various health concerns. Dr Praveen Thukral, principal of the college, pointed out that the impact of not recognising the rights of the girl child is detrimental to all forms of society’s progress, both socially and economically. There is an increase in the dropout rate of girls in the education system, violence against women and girls, as well as the serious economic deprivation of women and girls’ access to services, skills and information which could have enabled them to lead just and healthy lives, he added. He said the school, along with the hospital, has adopted the village under the Nanhi Chhaan Programme, under which plants were also distributed to girl students of the school, in order to spread awareness regarding skewed sex ratio and various environmental issues concerning the society.