Lucknow: Planet’s seven billionth human is due to be born on October 31 somewhere in Uttar Pradesh.
Confusion has arisen as some organisations pin-pointed Pinky Pawar of Baghpat district just adjoining the National capital as the mother of the 7th billion child while others are claiming that it will be born at a village near Lucknow.
Earlier, United Nations Population Fund had claimed that a village in Uttar Pradesh is likely to hog the limelight for this population landmark as it has the highest birth rate in the world.
Though the UN agency has said it cannot pinpoint ”the exact moment when or the exact place where that child will be born”, but organisations working on populations have already started selecting places for the grand birth in UP.
Uttar Pradesh also has the highest birth rate and fertility rate among all Indian states.
In 1999, the UN named a Bosnian son of refugee parents the world’s sixth billionth person, but it has no such plan to name anyone this time.
It has, however, launched a global campaign called ‘7 Billion Actions’ asking individuals, organisations and corporations to share their stories of how the world of seven billion people can be a better place for all to live.
Plan, a U K-based children’s welfare non-profit organisation, has begun the countdown for a birth of a girl in a village near Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.
The organisation has identified Mal, a village in mango belt of Malihabad, near the state capital for the occasion.
An official of Plan India revealed that the organisation has selected seven expectant mothers from a village, about 20 km away from Lucknow, who are expected to give birth in the early hours of Monday at a community health centre.
”We are expecting a girl child would born which will be the seven billionth child,” the official hinted.
Though the organisation would be celebrating the day by giving certificates to all the newly born babies but the UP government health department authorities told UNI here on Saturday that they are unaware about the birth of the 7th billion child in the state.
Some other social organisations have said that one Pinky Pawar(25) is due to give birth to the 7th billion child in Baghpat district of UP.
Mediapersons have already reached Sunhaida village in Baghpat while the family members are rejoicing the moment.
Pinky hoped that her firstborn child would be named Samrat if it is a boy and Sneha if she gives birth to a girl.
The total fertility rate – the number of children a woman has in her lifetime, which should ideally be 2.1 to keep the population where it is – is 2.6, down from 3.2 in 1998 in the country.
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have total fertility rates of 3.9 and 3.8 respectively, and between them, account for 30 per cent of the population. (UNI)