*PUNJAB POLICE LAUNCHES EMPOWERMENT AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS*

*— COORDINATION MEETING AT LUDHIANA MARKS PRECURSOR TO ACTIONABLE INTERVENTIONS ACROSS HIGH-VULNERABILITY AREAS*

*— MULTI-SECTORAL INITIATIVE TO FOCUS ON HEALTH, SAFETY, EDUCATION, AND OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF GIRLS AGED 12–18 YEARS, SAYS SPL DGP GURPREET DEO*

CHANDIGARH/LUDHIANA, September 18:The Punjab Police has embarked on a comprehensive awareness and empowerment drive for adolescent girls aged 12 to 18 years, aimed at promoting their health, safety, education, and holistic development.

A coordination meeting, chaired by the Special Director General of Police (Special DGP) Community Affairs Division (CAD) Gurpreet Kaur Deo, was held as a precursor of the launch of an inter-departmental and inter-agency programme was held at the Conference Hall, Ludhiana Police Lines.

The meeting brought together key administrative, medical, educational, and social stakeholder departments onto a unified platform to devise actionable modules for outreach. Special focus was placed on identifying and intervening in pockets marked by lower socio-economic strata and higher vulnerability to crimes against young girls.

Addressing the scope and vision of the initiative, Special DGP Gurpreet Kaur Deo stated that the campaign adopts an integrated approach to nurture an informed, confident, and resilient generation of young girls capable of making safe decisions and contributing positively to society. The intervention modules will comprehensively cover physical and mental health, nutrition, menstrual hygiene, legal and safety awareness, digital and financial literacy, emotional resilience, leadership development, career guidance, communication skills, and welfare scheme accessibility.

The campaign extends beyond regular educational institutions to actively cover school drop-outs, girls from economically weaker and migrant families, girls with disabilities, and those vulnerable to child labour or early marriage.

The outreach framework will feature direct health check-ups, vocational training sessions, interactive flyers, nukkad nataks (street plays), and targeted short video/social media campaigns in Punjabi, Hindi, and English. Schools, colleges, parents, teachers, non-governmental organisations, and community leaders will be closely engaged to drive wide public participation and grassroots dissemination across the district.

The coordination meeting was attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigation-cum-District Community Policing Officer), Ludhiana Rupinder Bhatti, Civil Surgeon Dr Ramandeep Kaur, Head of the Department of Community Medicine at DMC Ludhiana Dr Anurag Chaudhary, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Ludhiana Rashmi, Principal, Education Department Amandeep Singh, Jasmine Pahwa from the Do Good Foundation; and researchers from IDRF, Chandigarh.

=========================================

*HARBAJHAN SINGH ETO REVIEWS PROGRESS OF ROAD DEVELOPMENT WORKS ACROSS PUNJAB*

*PWD MINISTER DIRECTS OFFICIALS TO FACTOR IN WEATHER CONDITIONS WHILE FIXING PROJECT TIMELINES*

*SPECIAL PRIORITY TO BE ACCORDED TO PMGSY AND NABARD INFRA DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROJECTS*

*Chandigarh, September 18:*Punjab Public Works Minister S. Harbhajan Singh ETO today reviewed the progress of road development works across the state during a meeting held at Punjab Bhawan. He said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led government is committed to providing the people of the state with a better and more efficient road transportation network.

While reviewing the works, the Cabinet Minister directed the officials to ensure that adequate time is provided for the execution of road and bridge construction projects while finalising their timelines during the tendering process. He said that factors such as the rainy and winter seasons should also be taken into consideration while fixing project timelines so that the works are completed within the stipulated period.

He directed officials to accord special priority to PMGSY and NABARD projects and ensure their timely completion. He also directed that payments to contractors be released on time so that the Department can achieve its financial targets. Directions were also issued to ensure proper lane marking and installation of other road safety equipment for improving road safety across the state.

The Cabinet Minister said that the Mann government is undertaking construction and upgradation works on 45,000 kilometres of roads across the state.

During the meeting, he also assessed the constituency-wise and division-wise status of ongoing works relating to state highways and link roads falling under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department. He said that the weather conditions are currently conducive for bituminous works and directed the officials to further accelerate the pace of execution.

The Cabinet Minister directed all concerned officials to immediately submit pending demands relating to funds and ensure timely release of payments so that the progress of ongoing works is not hampered. The Public Works Minister said that he would soon undertake another review of the progress of these works.

Prominent amongst others who were present in the meeting included Special Secretary Smt. Hargunjeet Kaur; Joint Secretary Amarbir Sidhu; Engineer-in-Chief S. Gagandeep Singh; Chief Engineers S. Anil Gupta and S. Arshdeep Singh; Superintending Engineers and Executive Engineers.