Family planning request for Assam's Health employees

Guwahati, Oct 22 (UNI) Assam's Health and Family Welfare department is all set to lead from the front when it comes to family planning and checking population growth.

Announcing the first-of-its-kind gesture in the country, state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma informed today that all appointment letters of the Department would have a request for its employees to exercise family control measures.

He said, '' All new employees would be expected to have not more than two children and a request to that end would be included in the appointment letter.'' ''This measure should surely have some impact and we are contemplating of requesting other departments to include such a mention.'' The first batch of the Health Department appointment letters with the new inclusion would be given out next month. ''To stress on our family planning slogan, the example should be set by the Department employees itself,'' the minister said.

In another endeavour to check population growth, an additional Rs 1,000 would be provided to women who opt for family planning measures during child-birth at government hospitals of rural areas.

A woman of rural area now giving birth at a hospital will get Rs 2,400 under the 'Janani Suraksha Yojana', if she goes for family planning measures, Dr Sharma said.

The Minister maintained that the initiatives by the Department to raise awareness regarding negative impacts of having more than two children on the mother's health have yielded results.

He claimed that population growth rates have dipped in the state and it would be evident during the next census.

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