Village in Rajasthan resolves to stop foeticide

A village panchayat in Rajasthan’s Alwar district has decided to take measures in order to prevent female foeticide. The panchayat in Alwar’s Majra village, 150 km from Jaipur, will give a prize money of Rs 5,100 to a person giving information about illegal sex determination tests being conducted in the area. While declaring foeticide an “appalling crime and a blemish on society”, the panchayat decided to penalise the people indulging in it. “We read reports of increasing foeticide cases daily and this prompted us to take this step. We will do our best to curb it,” Mahadev, sarpanch (chief) of the panchayat said. He said that the panchayat would motivate villagers to help stop foeticide. “We have decided to give Rs 5,100 to the informer and we are also thinking about how to punish persons indulging in this act,” Mahadev said. “We feel that this kind of decision is important, otherwise there would be very few girls left,” he added.