NCW chief visits Ukhrul, meets public leaders
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang
Ukhrul, July 04 2022:
National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma on Monday visited Ukhrul town to oversee the situation of the people, especially womenfolk of the district.
The NCW chairperson was accompanied by NCW member Soso Shaiza, senior coordinator Moirangthem Lilabati and Sanatombi (MFS).
During her official visit, Rekha Sharma also held an interaction with various Tangkhul civil bodies and NGOs, apart from officials of the district administration at DRDA Hall, Mini secretariat in the town.
She took note of different prevailing issues highlighted by the women public leaders of the district, pertaining to lack of proper market, banking and loan facilities for womenfolk.
Speaking on the occasion, Rekha Sharma stressed that the government needs to provide such basic requirements and also make women folks avail benefits of different state welfare schemes.
Advocating women's empowerment, she urged the womenfolk to start entrepreneurship while noting that people from the North East region are dependent on government jobs.
"Now is the time to come out of this choice and do our own thing and that is women entrepreneurship.
I want women to learn more about marketing, government should also provide them market and help them in trading", she exhorted.
Rekha continued that since her joining NCW as a member in 2015, it has been the wish of the commission to go to remote comers of the country, talk to the people there about their problems and to try to solve them.
"Today, I have come here to this far-off Ukhrul.
We are reaching every nook and corner of the country to see where we can make changes for the people", she said.
She also informed that NCW would be taking over the functioning of family counselling centres across the country.
Rekha pointed out that on her travel from Imphal, she found the approach road leading to the district headquarters in a dismal state.
"1 will meet CM N Biren Singh tomorrow and will apprise him about the road condition", she assured.
She also assured of fulfilling the demands for provision of multi-utility centre for women and lifting of AFSPA, 1958 from the state put forth by Tangkhul Shanao Long (TSL) in a memorandum submitted to her during the interaction.
Earlier in the morning, the NCW chairperson inspected One Stop Centre (OSC) Ukhrul and the district hospital at Naga Gate, Hungpung.
On learning that the OSC Ukhrul has not been getting funds for the last 20 months, she said, "We wifi be writing to the Ministry of Women and Child Development about it".
She continued that awareness about OSC appeared to be very low among local community and expressed doubt that majority of the people might not be even aware of the location of the OSC or why it exists.
During the visit to the hospital, the NCW chief and her team had a short interaction with the medical superintendent, staff and nurses of the hospital.