State appoints 28 protection officers in 23 dists to curb domestic violence

Kolkata: State Women & Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Shashi Panja in the Assembly on Friday said that the Bengal government has appointed 28 protection officers in 23 districts to check domestic violence on women.

The minister also told the House that 37 ‘Shakti Sadans’ have been introduced for protecting the interests of women in distress.

It will be managed by an NGO. ‘Shakti Sadans’ are the centers where women will be kept if they are subjected to any kind of domestic violence. Panja also said that socio-economic conditions of women have improved following the implementation of a host of new projects by the Mamata Banerjee government.

It has once again been reflected through the increase of the women voter list this year. The minister pointed out that the difference between the number of women and men voters stood at 13 lakh in 2023-24. The figure dropped to 11 lakh in 2024-25.

Panja also said that the state government has urged the Centre to increase budgetary allocation on child nutrition. Despite the Centre’s deprivation, the Bengal government on its own has been providing morning snacks, nutritional substitutes to ensure adequate calorie intakes. The minister alleged that the Centre has reduced the child Budget to 2.5 per cent after 2014-15 from 4.5 per cent. The minister stated that the Mamata Banerjee government has introduced several social welfare schemes for the betterment of women in the state. Around 2.15 crore beneficiaries across the state have been getting benefits of Lakshmir Bhandar scheme. More than 93 lakh women have joined various self help groups.

“These projects are being run to ensure social security of women in the state,” Panja stated. In another development, State Education minister Bratya Basu in Assembly on Friday presented the Netaji Subhash University of Sports and Entrepreneurship Bill, 2025. This will be the state’s first private university dedicated to Sports.

It will come up in Hooghly’s Chinsurah. Discussion will take place on the Bill on Monday. The university will offer various disciplines including sports

science, sports technology, sports management, sports

law and coaching.