Mission Shakti 5.0 from first Navratri; women safety steps to intensify: Yogi | Lucknow News

Lucknow: The fifth phase of Mission Shakti, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath‘s flagship programme for women’s empowerment and security, will commence on Sept 22 to coincide with the start of Shardiya Navratri and continue for 30 days. This was announced by the CM during a review of the ongoing scheme on Wednesday.During this period, foot patrolling by police will be made more stringent while all PRV-112 vehicles will remain active on roads. Senior police officers have been directed to personally engage with the public, inspect Police Lines and participate in patrols to assure the public that govt and the administration are committed to their safety. This should be done, the CM said, to instil a sense of security among the public and to deter criminals. He added that law should be enforced irrespective of the gender of the criminal.For more effective policing, the CM proposed that women personnel play a more active role. With 44,177 female personnel currently deployed, the CM said that during the campaign, female beat police officers should be sent to all 57,000 village panchayats and 14,000 urban wards. “These officers should interact with women and girls, understand their issues and needs and inform them about their rights and govt welfare schemes. They should also be informed about where and how to seek help in emergencies,” he said.Women police personnel will also be especially deployed at temples, religious sites, fairs and other public places during Navratri and other upcoming festivals. The CM directed officials to allow anti-Romeo squads to take “exemplary action” against miscreants to deter them from committing crimes. However, he added, there should be sensitivity in such matters and action should be taken only against “actual offenders”.For better outreach, the CM said that dialogues and conferences related to women’s safety should be held in each district while short films should be shown in schools and colleges to raise awareness about women’s safety and gender equality. “Efforts should be made to provide legal assistance to women in jails,” the CM said.