Sonography clinics sealed in Mumbai, Nashik

Mumbai As part of the ongoing drive against the illegal abortions in private hospitals and clinics across Maharashtra, the authorities have sealed as many as seven sonography clinics in Mumbai and Nashik during the last two days.

While four sonography centres were sealed by the civic public health officials from the areas of Dadar, Kurla, Malad and Andheri (east) in Mumbai, the health authorities closed three more such centres in Deolali and Devla areas of Nashik district.

Those running the sealed sonography centres have been booked for various irregularities under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. The civic health officials sealed four Sonography centres in Mumbai after carrying out checks of 138 sonography centres and 17 abortion clinics, while their counterparts in Nashik had carried out searches in at least 21 sonography centres.

In Maharashtra, sex determination tests are banned under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act. In fact, Maharashtra was among the first states in India to come out with legislation banning sex determination tests.

The state-wide drive against illegal abortion private hospitals comes in the wake of the death of a house-wife in a private clinic in Beed district three weeks ago.

A 28-year-old housewife Vijayamala Patekar had died while undergoing abortion in a clinic run by a doctor-couple Dr Sudam Munde and Saraswati on May 18 at Parli in Beed district.

After it was found during a sex-determination test that she was carrying a six month-old female fetus, Vijayamala -- a mother of four daughters -- had decided to undergo abortion at the Parli clinic, where she succumbed during the medical procedure.

Having registered Maharashtra’s lowest sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 years (801 as against 1000 male children) in the 2011 census, Beed district has earned a notoriety for rampant illegal abortions.

Following Vijayamala’s death, the Beed police last week booked three more cases of female feticides and arrested five persons, including a doctor and two staffers. Cases of female feticides have been reported from other parts of Maharashtra, including Solapur and Latur districts, ever since then.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has asked the Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) to keep a strict vigil on the medical stores, selling drugs required for termination of pregnancy, across the state. In its first initiative, the FDA has already initiated action against 10 such medical stores in Beed district.