Smt. Thakur reviews the Safe Tourism Destination for Women Project under Nirbhaya Fund at NIPCCD, Indore

As part of the ongoing efforts to ensure women’s safety and empowerment in tourism, a review meeting was held at the Indore campus of the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD), where the Minister of State for Women and Child Development Smt. Savitri Thakur chaired discussions in the presence of senior officials from the Department of Tourism, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

The meeting focused on the implementation of the Safe Tourism Destination for Women project, funded under the Nirbhaya Fund by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and executed by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department. The project spans 50 tourist destinations across 33 districts, aiming to create safe, inclusive, and economically empowering spaces for women through targeted infrastructure, skilling, and sensitization and Adocacy initiatives i.e Sankalp Surakshit Parytan Ka.

Following the review, the Minister conducted on-site inspections of project activities in the districts of Indore ,Ujjain, Khandwa (Omkareshwar), and Khargone (Maheshwar). These field visits included direct interaction with Project support Organisation head from Aprajita Mahila Sangh,CARD,Byepaas,Sangini, Samarth and IGS women beneficiaries engaged in various tourism-linked roles such as,E-rickshaw operators, Street food vendors, Mehendi artists,Souvenir makers,Sales assistants in tourism outlets,Story Teller,Boat Women and care Givers.

These women have been trained through skill development and self-defense modules under the project and are now actively participating in the tourism economy. The visits also assessed the status of safety infrastructure, community participation, and convergence efforts with other government departments to ensure long-term sustainability. At Maheshwar she interacted with girls working under Tourist facilitation Center after getting skill training.

The review reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to fostering a tourism environment that is not only safe for women but also enables them to become key stakeholders in local economic development.

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