National Girl Child Day was commemorated by the Women and Child Development Department through a meeting that brought together ASHAs, Anganwadi workers, and ANMs to raise awareness among grassroots-level workers in the Health and WCD departments.
Commissioner and Secretary of the Women and Child Development Department, Amneet P Kumar, presided over the 9th-anniversary event at Kisan Bhawan, Sector 14. He commended the state’s efforts in improving the sex ratio at birth by approximately 50 points under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign. Kumar praised this achievement as a matter of great pride for the state, showcasing its unwavering commitment to the empowerment and upliftment of the girl child.
He stated that the State Government is dedicated to curbing the menace of female feticide through coordinated efforts of stakeholder departments such as Health, Prosecution, Police, Education, and Women and Child Development. Kumar personally interacted with grassroots-level workers, discussing various women and child-friendly schemes like the Nutrition Tracker run by the department, which received high praise from the field force.
Director WCD Monica Malik emphasized the significance of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao program, inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2015 in Panipat, Haryana. She highlighted several essential government schemes promoting the safety and welfare of the girl child, assuring an acceleration of efforts to save the girl child.
The program included a session on menstrual hygiene, during which information was shared with frontline workers. The Commissioner and Secretary engaged in an interactive session with these workers and cross-checked the nutrition tracker on smartphones provided to Anganwadi workers.
Various schools in the district participated in an On-the-Spot Quiz, Drawing and Essay Writing Competition. The best-performing students were felicitated and rewarded by the Commissioner (WCD). A cake-cutting ceremony was organized to celebrate the birth of girls along with their proud mothers and daughters. Additionally, a drama performance by Outreach Bureau Chandigarh aimed to educate and highlight the importance of the girl child during the program.