Lucknow, June 24 (IANS) The government and the Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) are together developing a website listing out all authorised medical diagnostic centres to check mushrooming of illegal centres across the country. “The upcoming online database will be of immense help to the public in knowing the authorised diagnostic centres of their region,” IRIA’s Uttar Pradesh president P.K. Srivastava told IANS. This move comes in the wake of complaints that many diagnostic centres were conducting banned sex determination tests.

Moreover, the move would help authorities easily trace unauthorised centres operating in various states, added Srivastava.

Expressing concern over the “rampant functioning of illegal diagnostic centres that at times undertake sex-determination tests”, IRIA officials said that in Uttar Pradesh alone there were over 3,500 ultrasound centres against the approved strength of 600 sonologists.

“Preparation of such a database was long overdue. Once it is prepared, there would be an online monitoring of all authorised diagnostic centres operating in the country,” Srivastava said.

For developing the software to ensure online monitoring, IRIA had approached the central government a few months back, said the officials.

The website will be linked from the chief medical officers’ (CMOs) offices in every district from where it can also be uploaded, they added.