DK Health and Family Welfare Department orders scan centres to report pregnant minors to Police

DK Health and Family Welfare Department orders scan centres to report pregnant minors to Police

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, July 9, 2026: The Dakshina Kannada district Health and Family Welfare Department has directed all scanning centres to strictly verify the age documents of pregnant women and immediately inform the police if any pregnant girl below 18 years is identified.

The directive was issued at a district advisory committee meeting chaired by District Health Officer Dr Amrutha Bhandari.

The meeting noted that between April and June 2026, the district recorded 2,911 male births and 2,872 female births, maintaining a sex ratio of 987.

The committee also reviewed applications from institutions that recently purchased scanning equipment and discussed deficiencies found during inspections of hospitals.

In another key decision, veterinary hospitals and clinics were instructed to prominently display boards stating, ’Scanning for Animals Only’, and submit a notarised affidavit declaring that scanning facilities will not be used for humans.

District Implementation Officer Dr Deepa Prabhu said that from April 2025 to March 2026, officials inspected 681 private and 39 government scanning centres, while taluk health officers conducted inspections of 75 private and nine government scanning facilities.

Members of the District Advisory Committee under the PCPNDT Act and other officials attended the meeting.