GUWAHATI, Jan 5 - Almost out of the blue, the State�s child sex ratio has suddenly witnessed an increase, compared to what had been projected in the 2011 Census report, after it was found that the statistics for the Karbi Anglong district was inaccurate in the report.
Instead of 957 females per thousand males, the Census report will now show the overall child sex ratio (0-6 years) of the State to be 962, after a fact-finding survey unearthed the goof-up in December 2015.
Based on the survey report conducted by the Committee on Socio Economic and Health Development, Assam (COSEHDA), a non-government organisation in Karbi Anglong, the State health machinery will now write to the Ministry of Health and Family to facilitate necessary correction.
�Such mistakes are rare in the history of census reporting. Once the Central Supervisory Board accepts the recommendation of the State Supervisory Board, the statistics of Assam would change in the census report,� sources in the Health Department told this reporter, adding that the State board will formally send the report in a week of two.
With just 916 females per thousand males, the 2011 Census Report had projected Karbi Anglong as the district with lowest child sex ratio in Assam. However, the survey done at the instance of the Health Department, covering 1,000 households, put the child sex ratio of the district to be much higher � at 954 female per thousand males in the age group of zero to six years.
Contrary to what the 2011 census had published, the health machinery claims that the actual figure related to the child sex ratio of the hill district should be 959 females per thousand males (age group of zero to six years).
The Health Department sources, while confirming the arrival of the survey report in the first week of December 2015, said that the department will formally write to the Ministry after the supervisory meeting to be held shortly.
�We have now come to know that some provisional reports were mistaken for the final report. The State supervisory will now formally write for necessary action. They have recently made some corrections, but we need to be sure that the report appears in the corrected version everywhere,� they said.
Dr Sondeep Hanse, president, COSEHDA, said that the census report came as a shocker, which ultimately necessitated the survey. �The survey started around June last year and the final report emerged in the last part of November,� Dr Hanse added.
