NONGPOH: The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Week organised by the District Task Force and the office of the deputy commissioner, Ri Bhoi district concluded at the District Library Hall on Saturday.
Local MLA and chief adviser to the government of Meghalaya, DD Lapang, was the chief guest while Kala Rama Chandran, director, NEPA, was the guest of honour on the concluding day.
Addressing the gathering, Lapang appealed to the people to make the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign a success, saying that the programme was the right platform to create awareness among citizens that the girl child had equal value and that it was important to educate her.
He said the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign was launched on January 22, 2015 by the central government for welfare, protection, empowerment and education of the girl child. “It is a social campaign to generate awareness and improve the wellbeing of girls, eradicate female foeticide besides addressing the declining child sex ratio among girls. The scheme has been implemented in the districts where the child sex ratio is low,” Lapang said.
He further informed that the government has amended a law that would punish anyone involved in sex determination and abortion. “With advances in science and technology it has been made easier to determine the sex of the baby inside the mother’s womb during pregnancy, which has led to abortion in many cases and it is one of the factors leading to low sex ratio among girls,” he said.
“The dowry system is another reason of low child sex ratio in India, and the government has taken every effort to stop the menace in this regard,” he added.
He also said education was important for children to reach to the top and called upon parents to send their wards to school.
Lapang also congratulated the organisers of the programme which was observed not only in the district headquarters but also held in every block and village level.
Earlier, Ri Bhoi deputy commissioner CP Gotmare, highlighted the programmes during the week such as oath-taking, signature campaign, tree plantation, handing of birth certificates, door to door campaign, sticker campaign, awareness campaign, poster, drawing and painting competitions, rallies, film show, among others. He appreciated the active involvement of the ASHAs and anganwadi workers and said that through them the message would penetrate to every nook and corner of the district.
Chandran in her speech reminded the gathering of the days when sati and dowry were prevalent in the country, when women had no place in the society, unlike the present day. She urged parents to show confidence on their children and help them choose their own careers and stand on their own feet.The function also featured songs by students, presentation of certificates to winners of poster, drawing and painting competitions at the block level, awards to best frontline workers, girl achievers in the field of sports, education and the best school management committee, among others.
