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Where gun
licences lure men to vasectomy camps
April 01, 2008 | Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district has
embarked upon a novel idea to promote male sterilisation - the
administration has decided to grant gun licences to those who come to
family planning camps and offer to undergo vasectomy, a senior
official said Tuesday.
These camps are being held more and more frequently now. The last
two-day camp in the district started March 27. It saw 37 people came
forward for vasectomy; 23 of them have applied for gun licences,
according to official records.
Earlier, the number of vasectomies in Shivpuri, over 300 km from here,
was almost negligible because people thought getting sterilised went
against their macho image. Men used to therefore send their wives for
a sterilisation operation instead, an official said.
"The number of vasectomies in the district had not even crossed the
double digit figure in the past eight years. Last year, there were
only eight cases of vasectomy and, surprisingly, a year before that
(2006) it was only one," Shivpuri District Collector Manish
Shrivastava told IANS on phone.
"I then put on my thinking cap and tried to find out the reason behind
such a poor response to vasectomy. I soon came to know that the people
in this region have a penchant for their macho image and they find
going for sterilisation beneath their dignity.
"Since people in this dacoit infested district also have a penchant
for guns, I thought of providing them a bigger symbol of masculinity
(a gun) and told them to come forward for vasectomy," Shrivastava
said.
"Guns in dacoit infested Chambal region, of which Shivpuri is a part,
are not only considered a status symbol but are also a sign of
manliness."
This has obviously worked better than the Rs.1,100 given to the man
undergoing vasectomy and Rs.200 to the person who motivated him - the
earlier ncentive schemes.
"This year, however, over 150 men have got themselves sterilised since
we have offered gun licences. I expect another 100 by the end of this
month," Shrivastava said.
The collector, however, maintained that getting arms licences would
depend on obtaining clearance by the police department as well as a
recommendation from the sub-divisional magistrate, as before.
"The offer doesn't mean that people with criminal backgrounds can walk
in, have a vasectomy done and walk away with a gun licence."
The district of 1.4 million people has 11,000 licensed arms. Residents
say they want more because bandits have a large number of unlicensed
weapons.
"I never bothered to apply for a licence before because I knew it was
not so easy to get," said Shivpuri resident K.K. Saxena, 55, who
recently underwent vasectomy. "But when I heard about this, I decided
to apply."
Saxena was provided with a medical slip confirming his sterilisation
to attach to his gun application.
About 10,000 to 15,000 people apply each year for gun licences in
Shivpuri, but only about 500 of them manage to get them.
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