A study in Punjab-Haryana has put the blame for female foeticide on poor public healthcare facilities and the missing regulatory regime for private nursing homes. The study was conducted by a group of experts led by Dr D.S. Dahiya, former director-general, Health Services, Haryana, for the Population Foundation of India.

Done in the wake of discovery of nearly 20 female foetuses from the well of an unauthorised hospital in Patra last month, the study points out the growing nexus between quacks and midwives across the two states, who play a key role in guiding parents who want to get rid of their unborn girl child. “The ultrasound clinics from one state send women for abortions to the other state to avoid detection,’’ the report says. The hospital in question in Patra was run by a quack and a disgruntled midwife gave away the secrets.

The report points out that “existence of an unauthorised hospital on the main road of Patra town could not have gone unnoticed.’’ Hinting at the “convenient silence of the district-level regulatory authorities’’, it calls for strict action against them.

“Due to lack of healthcare services in rural areas, a vacuum has been created. The quacks are also proving to an extent responsible for incidents related to missing girl children and have become a point of referral services,’’ the report says.

The Patra nursing home, run by an ex-armyman — the report says — was raided last year by the district authorities. However, the case was “hushed up”. It has asked the Punjab government to take stringent action against the medical officers concerned.

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