Steps taken for welfare of women: Khattar

Chandigarh, Nov 24: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said that his government has taken several measures for the safety, security and welfare of women in the state.

He was responding to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's comments on the issue while interacting with representatives of the electronic media here. “Although I did not raise my own family and have no son or daughter, yet I always remain deeply concerned about the sons and daughters of the state, and considered them as his family. For me, the whole Haryana is my family,” he said.  Mr Khattar said if the former chief minister was so concerned about the daughters, why he did not take any steps during his tenure to curb the social evil of female foeticide which was mainly responsible for the imbalance in the sex ratio of the state. The present government has not only been successful in addressing the problem of skewed sex ratio, but also saved the lives of thousands of girls who used to be killed before they were born. Giving official figures in support of his claim, the Chief Minister said the average sex ratio during the ten-year tenure of the previous state government was 847, but after effective implementation of the ambitious 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' programme in the state, the annual average figure rose to 900 in 2016 and 911 in 2017. Even the monthly figure has touched 937-mark. Contrary to this, the average annual figure during the previous government was 830, 832, 840 and 868. With a view to keeping a check on crime against women, women police stations have been opened in each district. Since the inception of Haryana in 1966, only one woman police station had been opened. In order to ensure that our daughters do not have to go far to get quality education, it has been decided to open a women’s college every 20 kilometers. In the same series, foundation stones of 21 colleges were laid in a single day, he added. In reply to a question regarding Ms Manushi Chhillar, the Chief Minister said she had brought laurels to the country and the state and she would be suitably honoured after a round of consultation with her. Chhillar is coming to Kurukshetra on November 30 and would participate in a programme to be organized at Bhagat Phool Singh Women University in Khanpur Kalan in Sonipat district on December 1. The state government plans to utilize her services for a social cause, he added. Answering another question concerning Rio Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi Malik, he said she had expressed her willingness to continue with her present job in the Railways. “If she expresses the desire to do job in Haryana, the state government would provide her a job,” he added. 
The state government has a policy to provide jobs to outstanding sportspersons in the state under which provision it has kept three per cent of government jobs reserved for them. UNI