The Junagadh district administration handed over a unique card to parents of daughters who will receive priority treatment in all of their day-to-day government duties, in yet another crucial move done to rescue the girl child.
The 'pink card,' based on the tagline 'Meri Beti Mera Abhiman (My daughter is my pride),' was presented to 1,618 rural parents and 1,000 city parents last week. Its goal, according to insiders, is to make parents of girl children proud of their daughters at every stage of their lives.
The district administration looked through the birth records and found the parents who had daughters. Parents with only one or two daughters are eligible for the card scheme. Couples with a son and a daughter were eliminated.
The mother and father of the girl(s), as well as their residence and other information, are listed on the card. In all government offices, whether panchayat, revenue, or municipal corporation, pink cardholders will not be required to queue, or will be required to form a separate queue if necessary. These cards are distributed by the mamlatdar office when all details have been verified.
'We want parents of girl children to feel proud of their daughters and receive priority treatment in all government offices,' Rachit Raj, the district collector of Junagadh, explained the purpose of the card to TOI. As a moral obligation, we are also in talks with private parties to provide benefits to these cardholders in the Junagadh district. However, we will not force the programme on private participants. It will take eight to ten days to distribute the cards.'
The administration is also in discussions with private companies such as ropeways, private hospitals, and educational institutions, among others, to provide perks such as discounts to cardholders.
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