Lucknow,  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday expressed concern over the population imbalance.

He said a population control programme must go ahead successfully but at the same time "population imbalance" should not be allowed to happen.

The chief minister said, "On one scale, population is an achievement of the society, but this will remain an achievement only when the society remains healthy and disease-free."

Speaking at a function to mark the commencement of 'population control fortnight', he noted, "When we talk about family planning/population stabilisation, we have to keep in mind that the population control programme must go ahead successfully, but at the same time a situation of population imbalance should not be allowed to happen."

He said programmes pertaining to awareness of population stabilisation have been running for the past five decades.

"If we have skilled manpower, it is an achievement for the society, but where there are diseases, shortage of resources and disorder, population explosion becomes a challenge on its own," he added.

Stating that Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in the country, Yogi Adityanath said, "ASHA sisters, Aaganwadi workers, village pradhans, teachers and others can work together with the Health Department. Collective efforts are needed in this direction."