October 15, 2013
Mamata Banerjee keeps her promises on Women`s safety
Post-Durga Puja, the West Bengal government will focus on the issue of women`s safety with renewed vigour. West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee had been working relentlessly for the upliftment of women across the State. Her visionary ideas, like the Kanyashree project, have already been implemented. The measures taken by the administration to ensure women`s safety during the recently-concluded Durga Puja also displayed the commitment of the government to make women feel safe in the state.
Now, West Bengal is set to get 10 more all-women police stations by the end of this year. The decision approved by the West Bengal cabinet recently, will take up the number of all-women police stations in Bengal to 20.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier announced that 65 all-women police stations would be set up in the state. Ten all-women police stations have already been set up at Howrah, Barasat, Baruipur, Asansol, Jhargram, Contai, Chinsurah, Krishnanagar, Siliguri and Jalpaiguri Sadar. The new ones will come up in the sub-divisional headquarters of Burdwan Sadar, Medinipur Sadar, Purulia Sadar, Bankura Sadar, Darjeeling Sadar, Sreerampore (Hooghly), Suri (Birbhum), English Bazar (Malda), Diamond Harbour (South 24-Parganas) and Barrackpore (North 24-Parganas).
The government has approved the creation of 330 posts under various categories for the new police stations. A woman police officer will head each of these police stations and majority of the other ranks will be women. Since it takes about a year-and-a-half to train new recruits, the interim period will see the new police stations being manned by women police personnel drawn from the existing common police stations or other forces in the state. To achieve the target of 65 women police stations, the Bengal government has plans to set up 10 women police stations per year. Going by this, the target will be met by mid-2017. The state government will allocate the funds required for setting up the police stations from its treasury. In addition, a detailed proposal has been submitted to the 14th (Central) Finance Commission, seeking special funds to set up more women police stations in the state, ideally one in every block.
Women, our mothers and sisters are the assets of our society, West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee has always maintained. The government, under her leadership, had earlier reserved 50 per cent seats in panchayats for women. The CM said that she wanted the women of the state to be empowered. If any wrong is done against them, the doer will not be spared, there will be fast track courts, she added.
WB Government Initiatives for Women :
1> 10 Women Police Stations at Sub-Divisional Head Quarters have been set up.
2> Kolkata Police has set up an exclusive unit to protect women, especially tourists.
3> The city police has started an “Atma Raksha” wing to teach girls taekwondo, judo, boxing karate and wrestling. Batches of schoolgirls will be trained for a month each. Finance department sanctioned Rs 2 crore for this project.
4> West Bengal Government has approved setting up of 88 fast track courts to ensure speedy justice to the people. The State Government has plans to dedicate 45 Fast Track Courts out of 88 to try cases of serious offences against women.
5> State Policy on Empowerment of Women: One Stop Crisis Centre or Comprehensive Care Unit for medical, legal and emotional support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
6> Kanyashree Prakalpa – A Flagship scheme launched on October 1, 2013 for the welfare and education of adolescent girls belonging to economically weak families, below the age of 18 to prevent child marriage, trafficking and school drop-outs. A cause pioneered by social reformers like Rammohun Roy and Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, the benefits of the scheme come in two phases: a an annual scholarship until the age of 18 and an one-time payment thereafter.
Share:
