04-04-2008, 12:22 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ex-bandits shoot blanks to avoid baby boom
By Shuriah Niazi
BHOPAL, India - In an area of India notorious for untamed outlaw activity, an innovative health campaign is using the local citizens' longstanding love affair with guns to battle overpopulation.
In the Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh - the historic stomping grounds of India's legendary "dacoit", or bandit, gangs - male villagers are lining up for nasbandi, or vasectomy, in return for a cherished gun license. Considering the area's penchant for firearms and its history of crime, men seeking gun permits in the past have faced a stiff application process. Now, men who present a sterilization certificate are sent to the front of the line. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
By Shuriah Niazi
BHOPAL, India - In an area of India notorious for untamed outlaw activity, an innovative health campaign is using the local citizens' longstanding love affair with guns to battle overpopulation.
In the Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh - the historic stomping grounds of India's legendary "dacoit", or bandit, gangs - male villagers are lining up for nasbandi, or vasectomy, in return for a cherished gun license. Considering the area's penchant for firearms and its history of crime, men seeking gun permits in the past have faced a stiff application process. Now, men who present a sterilization certificate are sent to the front of the line. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->