Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that women have an important role in the development of the society and they are touching new heights in every field of life. He was addressing the 'Nari Tu Narayani' programme organized by the daily newspaper Himachal Dastak, here on Monday.
He expressed happiness that this programme was celebrated in honour of women for achieving great achievements in various fields. There was a time when women were confined to household chores and the inclination towards educating girls in the society was very low and they were also prevented from working outside the house.
He said that for a long time half the population was deprived of intellectual and economic development but with the change in time, the social status of women has changed. He said that it was a matter of great pride that today women have emerged as an inspiration for others by creating a unique identity in every field of society with their dedication, hard work, determination and ability.
The present state government had started many ambitious schemes for the upliftment of women. The Mukya Mantri Vidhwa evam Ekal Nari Awaas Yojna had been launched to provide a grant of Rs 3 lakh to economically weak widows and single women for construction of house. Apart from this, the government had also increased the incentive under the widow remarriage scheme from Rs 65 thousand to Rs 2 lakh.
The Chief Minister said that it was due to the efforts of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that women got 33 percent reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions as a result of which their participation in development at the grassroots level had been ensured. He said that the MLA from the largest district Lahaul-Spiti was also a woman and all the big administrative officers posted there were also women, which shows the respect of the present government towards women.
He announced to give Rs 51,000 each to the honoured women on behalf of the state government and also distributed awards to the Narayanis of Season-4 for commendable work in various fields besides the Engineering Icon of Himachal, Civil Excellence Award-2025 to the engineers of different departments for their excellent work in their respective fields. He also released the Green Himachal based souvenir of Himachal Dastak.
Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, MLAs Sudarshan Bablu and Anuradha Rana, Chief Minister's Principal Advisor (Media) Naresh Chauhan, Chief Minister's Principal Advisor (IT and Innovation) Gokul Butail, Secretary to the Chief Minister Rakesh Kanwar, Chairman of Himachal Dastak newspaper K.D. Sridhar, Editor Hemant Kumar, Bureau Chief Mast Ram Dalel, Director Information and Public Relations Department Rajiv Kumar were present on this occasion.