The declining sex ratio in the country was a cause for alarm, Union Minister of State for Tourism K Chiranjeevi said here today.

Declining sex ratio in India is an alarming issue and improvement of basic healthcare facilities and nutrition of pregnant women should be the only aim to curb all socio-cultural practises and discrimination against women, Chiranjeevi said.

Speaking at the International Conference on Recent Advances in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the union minister said it has to be an on-going process to educate people about not only saving the girl child, but also about maintaining a healthy gender balance in the society.

The three-day International Conference is being organised by Federation of Obstetric Gynaecological Societies of India and Obstetric & Gynaecological Society of Hyderabad.

Chiranjeevi gheraoed by Visalandhra Maha Sabha protesters

Chiranjeevi today faced the ire of united Andhra Pradesh supporters who gheraoed him in Hyderabad and demanded that he resign from his post. The actor-turned-politician assured them that if the bifurcation became a certainty he would not hesitate to quit.

The pro-united AP activists, under the banner of Visalandhra Maha Sabha, staged a protest outside the Ministers' Quarters here, where the Union Ministers and Congress MPs from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions today met to discuss the future course of action.

Chiranjeevi, who arrived late at the venue, had to face angry protesters who blocked his car and demanded his resignation. He got down from the car and tried to pacify the protesters saying that he and other Union Ministers and MPs were sparing no effort to keep the state united. "If the division becomes inevitable, I will not hesitate to quit," he added.

As police tried to quell the protesters, Chiranjeevi received a memorandum from them and drove into the Ministers' Quarters for the meeting. Earlier, the Visalandhra Maha Sabha activists tried to lay siege to his house at Jubilee Hills but police prevented them.