Jaipur: The Centre has cracked down on websites promoting the birth of baby boys. Over the past few months, the Centre blocked over 1,000 websites.The Centre is keeping a close watch on such websites which mislead people and fuel discrimination between girls and boys. Meera Srivastava, joint secretary (reproduction and child health) at the health ministry, said Wednesday that efforts should be made to update and change the perception of equality between daughters and sons among common people. While speaking at a one-day workshop on the effective implementation of the PCPNDT Act, organised Wednesday at the RAS Club auditorium in Jaipur, she noted that district appropriate authorities and district coordinators were present. She said, “The Centre blocked 1,000 websites that offer various types of videos or other content like performing pujas for producing baby boys.” “But this is still a big challenge to block such websites. States will also have to take initiative. States should identify such websites and take action to block them through the Sahyog portal,” she said. She appreciated the efforts being made for the effective implementation of PCPNDT in Rajasthan and said that the experiences here should be shared with other states as well. She emphasised making the awareness campaign more effective, along with the campaign based on the slogan “Ladka-Ladki Barabar Hai, To Puchna Kyon.” She directed the states to prepare a time frame for the registration and renewal of sonography machines.
