Ongole: As part of the weeklong celebrations of International Women’s Day, the Prakasam district police organised a self-defence awareness programme for the female students from the PACE, RISE, and QIS engineering colleges in Ongole on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, district SP AR Damodar said that the police department is conducting Women’s Empowerment Week from March 1 to 7, featuring various competitions including open house events, essay writing, public speaking, and art contests at schools and colleges throughout the district. He emphasised that women in today’s society face numerous challenges and need self-defence skills to protect themselves during potential attacks.

The SP advised the students to be aware of women’s protection laws, the POCSO Act, anti-ragging measures, and precautions regarding eve-teasing, appropriate and inappropriate physical contact, social media usage, and cybercrime.

SP Damodar highlighted that the police department has established special women’s help centres at every police station with female head constables or constables assigned to them. He assured that the police department remains committed to women’s safety.

The SP shared emergency helpline numbers with the students, including Child Helpline 1098, Women’s Helpline 181, Police Helpline 100 or 112, Cyber Crime Helpline 1930, and Prakasam district Police Control Room 9121102266.

During the programme, AP Police karate coach Nalluri Mohan and Subrahmanyam demonstrated ten self-defence techniques. Similarly, Taekwondo Master SK Abdul Salam and his students showcased defensive moves through impressive demonstrations. The event also included dance performances.

Additional SP Admin K Nageswara Rao, AR Additional SP Ashok Babu, AR DSP Srinivasa Rao, Women’s PS CI Sudhakar, Traffic CI Pandurangarao, RI Sitarami Reddy, and other staff participated in the programme.