PATIALA:Mrs. Preneet Kaur, MP from Patiala and Mrs. Manisha Gulati, Chairperson, Punjab State Women Commission, today reviewed the functioning of police in 11 districts of the state to ensure justice to women and address the problems being faced by women. A special Lok Adalat was also held to dispose of the complaints, lodged by the women with the Women Commission, during which about 42 grievances were redressed.
Mrs. Preneet Kaur said that she was happy that the State Women Commission led by Chairperson Mrs. Manisha Gulati was making commendable efforts for safeguarding the rights of women and addressing the issues being faced by them.
Expressing her good wishes for the coming International Women's Day on March 8, Mrs. Preneet Kaur said that the Punjab Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had taken path breaking initiatives for the empowerment of women by providing 33 percent jobs to girls and 50 percent reservation in local and panchayat elections. She said that the meeting was held today on a sensitive issue related to women and she hoped that with the better coordination between the commission and the police, women's issues would be resolved more expeditiously.
Chairperson Maniha Gulati alongwith senior vice chairperson Mrs. Bimla Sharma and Member Mrs. Inderjit Kaur, reviewed the functioning of police in 11 districts of the state, related to women's issues, future measures, efforts to curb physical abuse of women and girls at schools, colleges and universities and public places. She also took stock of the work being done to strengthen the safety of women, cases of domestic violence against elderly women and cases remanded by the Commission for investigation.
Commission Chairperson Manisha Gulati directed the police officers to take a humane and constructive approach to address the problems of women on priority basis without any delay. She said that similar arrangements should also be made to provide immediate justice to women especially in rural areas. She said that the commission would keep a close eye on the performance of the police stations, especially the women police stations and would take stern action against the negligent police officers in matters pertaining to women.
Mrs. Manisha Gulati said that efforts should be made to settle the marital disputes amicably and if possible the grievances raised by the female counterpart should not be shown to the male counterpart so that the family could be reunited through counseling. She also emphasized on the need for girls to be counseled before marriage and for boys to be educated in order to build harmony in their families, citing the declining self-constraint. She further said that apart from the efforts of the government, the commission and the police, the cooperation of social organizations, media and the society would be beneficial for the safety and advancement of women.
Deputy Commissioner Mr. Kumar Amit apprised the Member of Parliament and Chairperson about the 'One Stop Sakhi Center' set up to help women victims of domestic violence and to address their problems and said that to act on the reports sought by various commissions in the district, a task force has been constituted to take immediate action and the district administration is abiding by all the instructions given by the Punjab State Women Commission.
Earlier, SSP Mr. Vikramjeet Duggal, while welcoming the Member of Parliament and Chairperson, said that besides the steps taken for the protection of women and children in the district, the Women Help Desks have been set up in every police station and matters related to women and children are being dealt with by the women officers. Mr. Duggal assured that Patiala Police was committed to address the problems of women in the district on priority basis.
Among the prominants present there included Punjab State Social Welfare Board Chairperson Gursharan Kaur Randhawa, IG Patiala Range Jatinder Singh Aulakh, OSD/CM Amrit Pratap Singh Sekhon, Private Secretary/MP Balwinder Singh, Member SecretaryWomen Commission Mrs Vimmi Bhullar, Deputy Director Vijay Kumar and Mohan Kaushal, SP (H) Dr. Simrat Kaur, Patiala, besides Police Officers from Fatehgarh Sahib, Barnala, Bathinda, Sangrur, Khanna, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Faridkot, Moga, Ferozepur, Fazilka.
On this occasion, the panel member of Umeed, organization formed by District Police for resolving the problems of women of Patiala district, Prof. Vandana Sharma, Dr. Heena Bharti, Swinderjit Brar, Dr. Inderpreet Sandhu, Advocate Gagandeep Singh, Advocate Aman Garg were also felicitated.
Photo Caption-MP Preneet Kaur and Punjab State Women Commission Chairperson Manisha Gulati reviewing the functioning of the police of 11 districts related to the problems of women, at Patiala police line.