- UP has placed more than 10,000 women police during the Kanwar Yatra and they constitute almost 15% of the strength.
- Special help desks, QRTs and Shakti Booths are arranged to provide safety of 60–70 lakh anticipated women pilgrims.
Over 10,000 women police personnel have been posted along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh and constitute close to 15 per cent of the entire force, the state government stated. The head constables are 8,541 and sub-inspectors are 1,486, it added.
As per the statement, during a recent top-level review meeting, officials had told Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that about six crore devotees, out of which about 60-70 lakh would be women, are likely to take part in the yatra.
To this, the chief minister ordered the deployment of a women-oriented security template to protect the female pilgrims.
Under the model, female constables have been posted at all women's help desks to help and advise devotees in delicate circumstances.
Shakti Help Booths, along with women's voluntary organisations, are also being established in various districts to assist female pilgrims.
Female police officers have also been included as a compulsory part of rapid response teams (QRTs), even at night shifts, to provide instant relief in case of emergencies.
Patrolling by QRTs has been strengthened on main routes, and female personnel are keeping vigil in round-the-clock control rooms and helplines in 11 zones.
The Meerut division, which is one of the main centers of the yatra, has witnessed the maximum deployment with 3,200 women police officers being deployed across districts including Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Hapur and Ghaziabad.
Drone surveillance, CCTV monitoring and social media tracking are also being employed to even beef up security. Over 150 women help desks have also been established to offer real-time support, it said.
