Choosing the most apt occasion of Raksha Bandhan to instill a fresh sense of safety, security and dignity among women, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the third phase of the ambitious Mission Shakti in the presence of Governor Anandiben Patel and Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Announcing the launch of the women empowerment campaign on Saturday, the chief minister said, “Mission Shakti 3.0 will remain always on top of the agenda of his government,” and attributed the resounding success of the previous two phases of Mission Shakti to the steely resolve of women.
Yogi Adityanath chose the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan to launch the flagship programme Mission Shakti, making a fresh pledge to protect all women in his state.
Speaking at an event organised at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, the chief minister said that it was his government’s honour to be getting the opportunity to work for the uplift of women across a wide range of sectors as no state could prosper without the empowerment of women.
“Under the guidance of the prime minister, the state government is working continuously for the safety, respect and self-reliance of women. Carrying forward the same sequence, today the third phase of the campaign is moving forward,” he said.
While extending his greetings to women, Yogi Adityanath said, “Under the Kanya Sumangala Yojana, today (Saturday) Rs 30.12 crore has been transferred online into the accounts of 1.55 lakh girls.”
Earlier, over 7.81 lakh women were benefited by this scheme.
The women and police beat programme was launched by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Under it over 10,000 women beat officers would be deployed in all 1,537 police station areas of the state.
The chief minister, with a pledge to empower the women in the state, honored 75 outstanding women under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav programme for their noteworthy contribution in various fields. Besides, 75 women from every district were honoured for their exemplary work. Over 58,000 special Mission Shakti Kaksh will enable the women cops in spreading awareness at the grassroots level in the state.
Saying that the state government was solely dedicated towards women empowerment, Yogi Adityanath laid the foundation stone of Avantibai battalion, one out of the three new women battalions of PAC.
Over 1.50 lakh recruitments have been made in the Police department, out of which on 20 per cent posts women have been recruited.
On the occasion of the launch of phase-3 of Mission Shakti, the chief minister pointed out how effective the government’s policy of zero tolerance had resulted in curbing crimes against women after 2017. He said that the government had made provisions under which women police officers would conduct the hearings related to matters of the fairer sex so that the victims did not hesitate to come forward and lodged complaint of any kind of excesses against them to get the culprits punished. He said the state government had made arrangements for drinking water, toilets for women in more than 1.5 lakh schools.
Greeting the women, Yogi Adityanath said, “Mission Shakti is a symbol of women’s safety, security and self-respect. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi we have spared no effort to make women self-reliant and self-independent. Many schemes, including Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, Janani Suraksha, Varasat Abhiyan, PMAY have been launched to empower women.”
Yogi said that earlier mothers and sisters had to line up to withdraw money from banks from Jan Dhan accounts but for their convenience, the state government launched the BC Sakhi scheme to benefit the women of the state. “We have also connected over one crore women to 10 lakh self-help groups. This not only makes them self-reliant but also provides employment opportunities,” he asserted.
The chief minister said that about 15 crore beneficiaries of the state were getting free ration through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). He said in UP, about 80,000 government ration shops were providing food grains to the beneficiaries under the scheme.
Talking about women empowerment, the chief minister said, “Recently panchayat elections were held in which over 54 per cent village heads and 56 per cent district panchayat chairpersons are women and 54 per cent women have been made block pramukh.
He said a Rs 35 crore project had been approved by the government to set up milk producing companies in districts on the lines of Balinee Milk Producer Company. He said soon, Jhalkari Bai Mahila Cooperative Milk Producer Company would be formed in Jhansi and Mahoba and women cooperative society would be formed in Budaun.
Ending his speech, Yogi Adityanath said, “This programme of Mission Shakti will prove to be a milestone for women's dignity, security, self-reliance and respect.”