Site to track female foeticide fails to deliver

Two months after launch of website, officials admit technical issues preventing effective data collection

Two months after launch of website, officials admit technical issues preventing effective data collection

Two months after the state Health Minister Suresh Shetty launched the website www.amchimulgi.gov.in amid much fanfare and hope for change in the dipping child sex ratio, the website is yet to take off properly.
Technical issues with the website are preventing data from getting reported correctly, said officials from the state family welfare department. Dr Suresh Gupta, additional director, family welfare, said the matter had been referred to the National Informatics Centre (NIC).


Teething troubles still: The website www.amchimulgi.gov.in

Asked how many complaints or tip-offs about doctors conducting sex determination tests had been received through the website and how many such cases had been acted upon, he said he was not in a position to give the information because of the technical problems the website was facing.

"There have been technical issues right from the beginning. Some data that should appear automatically doesn't show up, like some email addresses, and reporting of information from users is also facing some complaints. That's why I can't give you an update on how many complaints have been received online and how many delivered. Soon, we hope to resolve the issue," he said.

Besides giving out general information about the child sex ratio and figures across the state, the website was mainly launched as a platform where people can pass on information they have about clinics that conduct sex selective abortions or sonography to determine the sex of the child.

"The beauty is that people don't have to give their information and are free to reveal any information that they might have, however minor, and we will give them a number through which they can even track the progress of the case reported," Gupta said.

Helpline of little help
Calls to the PCPNDT helpline 1800-233-4475 launched a couple of weeks before the site have also not been too many or too helpful, said officials.

"Of the 149-odd calls received, only around 40 were genuine complaints. We gave them a timeframe of eight days and, as far as I know, all must have been resolved in that period," Gupta said.

Officials confirmed that most of these calls were received during the first few weeks and the calls have dwindled now.

"The calls now are more of generic inquiries to know about the helpline or give information which is general in nature and not helpful.

The calls have started getting fewer and maybe people are forgetting about the helpline. We need to do some serious advertisement if this has to work," an official said.