Terming population stabilisation as “most important”, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has said the govt will strive for achieving it through people’s cooperation rather than taking the legislation route.

“We are building new infrastructure, increasing food production but everything is proving to be less than required due to lack of population control. How to tackle it is the biggest question before India now,” he said.

Azad was talking to the media after inaugurating the pavilion of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry — with the theme of “population stabilisation” — at the India International Trade Fair in New Delhi on Sunday.

“We are striving for cooperation and support of the people rather than taking the legislation route for population stabilisation,” he said and appealed to the people to avail the new technologies for birth control.

“Earlier, so many new scientific methods, technologies, medicines and contraceptives were not available for both men and women. I hope the people will avail all these facilities for family planning,” he said.

Azad said his ministry was contemplating refocusing on “field publicity” in rural areas to spread the message about various schemes.

“Earlier, field publicity was the key but now electronic media has reached everywhere. But unfortunately, electronic media is focusing more on the juicy news. May be, we need to refocus on field publicity,” he said.

Earlier, Azad took a round of the pavilion where the message of population stabilisation has been given through models, posters and informative panels, stalls displaying contraceptives and condom vending machines.

Officials said a “renewed focus” is being given by the Ministry on population stabilisation.

The pavilion will also have free eye check-up, cancer awareness and screening, sterilisation camp and facilities for emergency contraceptive consultation other than consultation for ayurvedic, homoeopathy and unani systems of medicine.

HLL Lifecare, Voluntary Health Association of India and National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme are among the enterprises which have set up their stalls.

At the NVBDCP stall what caught Azad’s attention was display of larva of dengue-carrier ades agypti mosquito and the larva-eating gambusia fish in a glass jar.