3,000 more posts of anganwadi workers to be created: Mann

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said his government will create 3,000 new posts of anganwadi workers in the state.

Addressing a gathering during a state-level function to mark the festival of ‘Raksha Bandhan’ here, Mann said the state government has already started the process in this regard and soon recruitment for these posts will be started.

This is a step forward towards empowering women by opening new avenues of employment for them, he said.

He said that the state government is also actively and sympathetically considering the genuine demands of ASHA workers.

The CM said that the state government is making concerted efforts for women empowerment. He said that six districts of the state are having female officers as senior superintendents of police, and eight districts have women deputy commissioners.

Required amendments are being made in the rules for changing physical criteria for recruitment of women in the firefighting department, he said.

Mann said that none of the previous governments had bothered to change these rules because they were least bothered about people and their problems, adding Punjab will be the first state in the country to recruit women as firefighting staff.

The CM said that the state government has so far handed over appointment letters to more than 44,700 youth in various departments. He said that this recruitment has been done on merit by adopting a completely transparent process.

Extending warm greetings to all Punjabis across the globe on the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan (Rakhri), the CM said that this festival celebrates the sacred bond of love, care and protection between brother and sister.

On the occasion, the CM also handed over appointment letters to 14 youths and one of the newly selected supervisors, Navdeep Kaur, tied Rakhi on the wrist of the CM and Lok Sabha MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer.