The Gazetteers Department

Family Planning: The progress made by the country in the various fields of economy since Independence is to a large extern off-set by the faster rate of growth of population. If self-sufficiency in economic fields is to be achieved, it is imperative to arrest the present high rate of growth of the population. Having recognised this the Government laid special emphasis on the Family Planning Programme which was taken up by the then Government of Bombay from November 1957. The Family Planning Programme is being implemented as a part of the general public health programme in the State through the primary health units in the rural areas and the family planning centres in urban areas. A separate Family Planning Bureau has already been established in the Directorate of Public Health at Pune for working out and executing the Family Planning Schemes, in the Third Five-Year Plan of the district an amount of Rs. 4.04 lakhs was provided for this scheme.

There are seven Family Planning Centres in the district located at the following places:—(1) Rahata, (2) Wambori, (3) Pimpalgaon-pisa, (4) Jeur, (5) Takali Dokeshwar, (6) Chas and (7) Rajur. More than 2,500 vasectomy operations were performed during 1960-61.

At the end of 1963-64, ten family planning centres functioned in the district. In these centres, advice was rendered to public on family planning. The social workers connected with family planning also visited people at home for propaganda work.

The State Public Health Department has taken up the sterilisation programme as one of the important and highly promising activities under the Family Planning Scheme. The Government has also adopted the policy of performing sterilisation operations of leprosy patients. The total number of sterilisations performed during the year 1961 in Ahmadnagar district was 1,244, out of which 1,049 were in case of males and 195 in case of females. Of these, 864 operations were performed in ten camps held in the district. During 1970-71, 11,067 sterilisation operations were carried out in 36 centres.

At present three mobile family planning units are working in the district with a medical officer at the head of each unit. In addition the family planning work is also carried out in the Civil Hospital, Ahmadnagar, Balasaheb Deshpande Charitable Dispensary and Hospital, Ahmadnagar, and Wadala Mission Hospital, Wadala.

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