As over 1.5 lakh women gathered in a Gujarat village for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Lakhpati Didi’ programme on Saturday, around 2,500 female police personnel took charge of security, ensuring the mega event proceeded smoothly.
In the first such initiative in the country, the entire security cover for the event venue at Vansi Borsi village in the Navsari district was provided by women police officers and constables to mark International Women’s Day.
Their male peers were deployed for parking and traffic management services, said officials.
Women police personnel were in charge of security at every step during the programme – right from Modi’s arrival at the helipad till the conclusion of the event, during which Modi addressed a sea of women, interacted with beneficiaries of the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme, and felicitated them with the Lakhpati Didi certificates.
Women police personnel have made the security arrangements for the Lakhpati Didi program, said Additional DGP Nipuna Torwane, who supervised the work of the all-women team.
“Since this is a very high-level programme, all precautions have been taken for its security. From constabulary to higher-ranking officials have been making arrangements, carrying out rehearsals and giving point-to-point briefings over the security arrangements for the last three days,” she said.
As many as 2,145 women police constables, 61 women inspectors, 187 women sub-inspectors, 19 women deputy superintendents of police, 5 women superintendents of police, and a deputy inspector general-rank official handled the security from the front, officials said.
An official release quoted State Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi as saying that the decision to make women in charge of security at such a high-profile event would be a milestone not only in Gujarat but in the entire country in policing and law and order.
“This initiative will give a strong message to the world on International Women’s Day, and it will also convey how women play an important role in making Gujarat a safe and secure state,” Sanghavi added.
The minister said this would be a historic initiative in India concerning law and order.