Amid rising crimes against young girls, Mayor Malti Rai on Tuesday issued a raft of directives urging stringent action against antisocial elements in the vicinity of schools in the state capital.<

In a meeting with police officials focused on her pet Swachh Bhopal – Surakshit Bhopal theme, Rai called for strict action against antisocial elements loitering around schools and those peddling drugs near educational institutions.

The meeting was attended by Additional Commissioner Devendra Singh Chouhan, representatives from all police stations in the city, the Special Juvenile Police Unit, as well as representatives from UNICEF, Arambh, Muskan, Bachpan, and Uday NGOs.

During the meeting, Mayor Rai stressed the importance of taking legal action against shops selling narcotics to children and controlling the crowds that gather outside schools during breaks.The Mayor further directed that each police station must maintain cleanliness, with two dustbins for wet and dry waste.

Waste should only be collected by designated vehicles.She also instructed the enhancement of cleanliness in toilets at police premises and urged the prompt disposal of old, unused vehicles that gather dust outside police stations.Additionally, Mayor Rai proposed organising a programme at the district level to administer cleanliness and protection-related oaths to all police officers at their respective stations.P

raising the efforts of Safe City partners, she called for better coordination between the civic body, police, and Safe City partners to make Bhopal the cleanest and safest city in the country.Notably, Safe City partners are a group of welfare organisations working for child safety and welfare as part of an initiative launched by UNICEF.