In an adaptation of Maharashtra’s famous folk procession dindi, the Satarabased Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal has urged the State government to take out a dindi of the girl child in fifteen high risk zones in the state which showed dismal sex ratio in the last census.
The state health department is adopting ways and means to ensure that the pre-conception and prenatal diagnostic techniques (prohibition of sex selection) or PCPNDT Act are implemented by inspecting sonography clinics in Mumbai and other parts of the state.
The NGO’s proposal is to create awareness on the PCPNDT among the ground level workers of aganwadis and health posts so that they do not support sex selection.
“We aim to build an envi ronment in which the government machinery at the ground level aware that helping sex selection is a crime. We also want to make them aware about the Act so that they do not become the agents of doctors involved in the sex selection,” said Varsha Deshpande, member of the advisory committee on the PCPNDT and secretary of the Mandal.
The NGO hopes to replicate the traditional dindi yatra, a pilgrimage on foot that has been performed annually for the last seven hundred years in the state. The dindis are well-organised and disciplined processions organised by Varkaris from the birth sites and samadhi places of various saints and converge in Pandharpur.
After a day-long meeting and workshops with all stakeholders, in the evening the members of the NGO along with anganwadi workers, ANM workers and other ground level staff will take out a procession through the streets of these villages.
A group of men on each Dindi carry a decorated palanquin ( palaki ) bearing images of a girl child. The leader of the group will walk in the rear front, playing the vina, accompanied by one or more drum players.
The NGO plans to stage the dindi from Panhala, Shirol, Karveer, Hatkangle and Kagal in Kolhapur, Vavla, Shirala, Tasgaon, Miraj and Palus from Sangli, Barshi from Solapur, Karad, Satara talukas and Ahmednagar taluka and Beed districts.
Prior to the dindi pro gramme, the NGO plans to hold a four day orientation workshop for all the stakeholders.
Panhala in Kolhapur district witnessed the largest drop in sex ratio from 931 to 795 females against 1,000 males in the 0-6 age group between 1991 and 2001.
The state average was 913 females per 1,000 males according to the 2001 census.
“We have selected these fifteen blocks in the districts as they are the high risk zones. Panhala is worst hit in the entire state,” said Deshpande.
However, the latest fig ures collated by the state health officials through the birth and death registrations, show the sex ratio is 819 females against 1,000 males. This is a marginal increase from the 798 females born per 1,000 males in 2004.
The proposal is awaiting a final approval by the state public health department.
“We support such activities. If the proposal is reasonable, there will not be any problem in getting the permission to implement it,” said Chandra Iyengar, Principal Secretary, Public Health.