On Saturday, the Patna district administration sealed 22 ultrasound diagnostic centers for violations under the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act.

Mr. Chandra Shekhar Singh, Patna`s district magistrate (DM), stated that as many as 22 ultrasound centers had been sealed. On Sunday, he revealed that the district administration is taking action against 46 other centers for violating the PC & PNDT Act after inspecting 532 ultrasound centers and diagnostic clinics in Patna between May 29 and June 9, 2023. 

Additionally, the IMA asked the state health ministry to be lenient towards centers with minor violations, such as the absence of a registered doctor during inspections.

Dr. Ajay Kumar, convenor of the Action Committee of the IMA Bihar chapter and also its former acting president, revealed that the association has appealed to the additional chief secretary of health, Dr. Pratyaya Amrit, not to seal ultrasound centers, having registered qualified doctor(s) (radiologist), who were not present during the time of the surprise inspection.

According to the data provided by the government, the sex ratio at birth, which is the number of female children to male, has declined from 934 per 1,000 males in National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 (data period 2015-16) to 908 in NFHS-5 (2019-20) in Bihar. These numbers prompted state officials to take urgent action against the illegal ultrasound centers and those not conforming to PC & PNDT Act. 

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/patna-news/pcpndt-act-violation-22-ultrasound-centres-sealed-in-patna-as-ima-rallies-behind-docs-101686503078702.html )