Even in this day and age, the unfortunate reality is that there is still a prevailing preference for a boy child than a girl. This obsession for a boy child had gotten so out of control in states like Haryana and Rajasthan that the two states have the worst sex ratio in the country.

It was the result of selective abortions, aka female foeticide where female fetuses were killed in the womb by parents as soon as they get to know the gender of the unborn child.

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This was happening despite a ban on sex determination of the fetus in the ultrasound scan.

Now a piece of disturbing news has surfaced from Uttarakhand where not even a single girl childbirth was registered in 132 villages of Uttarkashi district for the past three months.

According to ANI, 216 children were born in 132 villages of the district in the last three months, but not a single girl was among the newborns.

"We have identified areas where the number of girl childbirth is zero or in single-digit numbers. We are monitoring these areas to find out what is affecting the ratio. A detailed survey and study will be conducted to identify the reason behind it," District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan told ANI.

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Following the revelation, Chauhan held an emergency meeting with ASHA workers and asked them to increase vigilance in these areas and submit a report.

"No girl child was born for three months in these villages. It cannot be just a coincidence. This indicates female foeticide is taking place in the district. The government and the administration are not doing anything," Social worker Kalpana Thakur told ANI.

According to the 2011 census Uttarakhand had a sex ratio of 963 females for every 1000 males. But the Child Sex Ratio stood at an alarming 890.

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The national average was 943 and 919 respectively in 2011.

In 2017 the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) had found that the skewed sex ratio, however, plunged further to 896 for the three years from 2015-17 from 898 in 2014-2016.

This is despite a strict crackdown on sex determination tests, increasing awareness efforts and various government schemes like 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'.

Several reasons including pertiachy, dowry, women safety and the falling number of children in every households have been blamed for the preference of a male child by parents than a female.