Bhubaneswar, June 11: The administration plans to give free self-defence training to adolescent girls living in slums in and around the proposed smart city stretch along Janpath.
The Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) is planning to hire an agency to empower slum girls living in the Bhubaneswar Town Centre District (BTCD) area along Janpath by giving training them in martial arts.
"One of the important initiatives of the smart city project is to make the citizens socially smart and involve them in the planning process. We have collaborated with United Nations Population Fund and are undertaking various initiatives. Self-defence training for girls is a part of the initiative," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
According to plans, the BSCL will take up the training programme on a pilot basis at eight slums with 320 girls in the first phase. On completion of the programme, it will be extended to other girls living in the slums along the BTCD area. There are a total of 24 slums on this stretch.
The selected agency will provide training to adolescent girls. The first phase training will be held in 10 batches with 32 adolescent girls in each batch. Sources said the training would be rigorous and would continue for a minimum of 10 days for each batch.
"The agency will be selected through a tender. A proposal has been invited and we are hopeful to complete the process by the end of July. The training will begin soon after the tender process gets completed. We want to hire an expert agency for the programme," said a BSCL official.
The selected agency will also create awareness among the girls on various issues. It will be done in collaboration with police.
The girls will be sensitised about their rights, legal issues and usage of information technology tools. They will also be trained to tackle emergency situations.
"It is a smart move by the BSCL to take up such initiatives for the urban poor. It will help to boost their morale. It is a necessity to train girls in self-defence and make them stronger," said social worker Alok Kar, a resident of Saheed Nagar.
