Women lead Charge under Yogi’s Command
Special Correspondent
Changing dimensions of Hindi Heartland
Lucknow: Amidst political one upmanship in Uttar Pradesh, one common thread has been the verbal volleys over law and order. Crimes against women have been a heated topic in political circles. In a state where social strata, caste, religion and gender fuel much of the political rhetoric, the government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has over the course of its ruling worked doubly hard to change that very image of the Hindi heartland by ensuring that government policy is focussed towards making Uttar Pradesh a safer haven with women safety as a top priority area.
Uttar Pradesh has been counted and identified as an unsafe and backward state. This image was not baseless, but there have been many reasons for it. Criminals dominated politics and the business environment too was affected. A large number of criminal gangs were active. With rampant crimes, there was fear and insecurity prevailing among the common citizens, especially businessmen and women.
After Yogi Adityanath took over as Chief Minister in 2017, migration from the state stopped to a great extent. He put in place a clear ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy to tackle crime. Right after taking oath in 2017, Yogi Adityanath started a massive campaign against criminals. The measures included anti-Romeo squads,Mission Shakti, focus on patrolling and the Police Commissioner system in many cities.
As a result of the initiative of the UP Police, there has been a decline in the overall incidence of crime against women in the state.
The Yogi Government has given its recommendations to make the functioning of the investigative agencies and prosecution smooth and proper. Many fast-track courts are now handling cases of specific and serious crimes.
The Mission Shakti scheme for the safety and self-reliance of women and daughters also indicates the serious attitude of the government in this direction. Meaningful results of Mission Shakti have started changing the scenario of security. There has also been an increase in social awareness and consciousness towards safety and respect among women. In Uttar Pradesh, people in the society celebrate the birth of daughters. To encourage daughters, the government’s Kanya Sumangala scheme is a morale booster.
Anti Romeo Squads have been a major help
According to a senior official, the safety of women has been ensured in the state due to these squads and deployment of women police personnel. Similarly, for the safety of women, women constables and Pink Booths, special women police squad ‘Pink Patrol’ and helpdesk for women in police stations have also made women feel safe.
The first budget of the Yogi government 2.0 was presented in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly in 2022. Finance Minister Suresh Khanna made several big announcements while presenting the budget of Rs 6 lakh 15 thousand 518 crore 97 lakh. Special attention has been given to the safety of women.
In the 2022 budget, the destitute women pension has been increased to Rs.1000. Provision of Rs 4032 crore for this scheme was passed in the financial year 2022-23 budget. Apart from this, old age pension was increased to Rs 1000 per month, which benefits elderly women.
A provision of Rs 600 crore was made for the mass marriage scheme, which is spent on the marriage of poor daughters.
A provision of Rs 50 crore was made for both the doses of HPV vaccine to one lakh girls in the age group of 9 to 14 years in the state.
Women lead charge
With a view to strengthen the security of women and girls in the state, “Women Help Desks” were established in all the 1535 police stations in all the districts of the state, naming them as women beat constables.
Cyber help desks are being set up at the district level in all the districts of the state. A provision of Rs 72 crore 50 lakh has been proposed for the Women Empowerment Scheme.
In a call forBeti Bachao, Beti Padhao, UPSEE Laptops were given to 100 topper girl students and 100 topper SC/ST girl students.
Unleashing the Shakti in Women
A provision of Rs 20 crore is proposed for the protection and empowerment of women and skill development under the Mission Shakti program in the micro and small-scale industries sector.
In order to motivate Anganwadi workers for better performance, incentive amount is being provided at the rate of Rs. 1500 per month from September 2021.
10,370 women beats were allotted to 2,740 women police personnel in the districts of the state.
For maximum participation of women, 3 women PAC battalions have been formed at Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Badaun.
The “Women and Child Protection Organization” formed in August 2020 is being implemented/supervised by the Additional Director General of Police, Women and Child Protection Organization, Uttar Pradesh.
