Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jul 9: The Dakshina Kannada (DK) district health and family welfare department has instructed all scanning centres across the district to strictly verify the age documents of pregnant women arriving for scans. If any pregnant girl under the age of 18 is found, the centres must immediately report the matter to the police.

The directive was issued during a district advisory committee meeting held at the district health officer's office under the presidency of Dr Amrutha Bhandari.

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

Applications from institutions that have newly purchased scanning equipment were reviewed during the meeting. The advisory committee also discussed various deficiencies observed during recent inspections of hospitals.

In a key decision, the meeting resolved that veterinary hospitals and clinics operating in the district must prominently display a board stating ‘Scanning for Animals Only’. Furthermore, these institutions are required to submit a notary affidavit declaring that scanning facilities will not be used for humans.

District implementation officer Dr Deepa Prabhu informed the meeting that a total of 681 private and 39 government scanning centres were inspected between April 2025 and March 2026. Additionally, taluk health officers conducted inspections of 75 private and 9 government scanning centres.

District advisory committee (PCPNDT) members Anithraj, Dr Sundari, Dr Nanjesh Kumar, Dr Raghuraj, Dr Bharathi Prakash, Dr Chidananda Murthy, B A Khader Shah, Vasantha Peraje, and others were present.