Guns and Brushes

We have seen them with Guns or Lathis during any security bandobast in the city. Now we will see them with paintbrushes too, painting buildings and structures. We are speaking about the women in the home guard department of Belagavi.

The role of home guards is to save the lives and property of people during any emergency. They work as a para force to the police to maintain law and order during elections, riots, rallies, festivals and rescue people during natural calamities like floods, cyclones, and earthquakes. During the recent lockdown, the home guard department of Belagavi has done an outstanding job by moving into containment zones, admitting patients, distributing kits and many other services to mankind during the pandemic.

The home guards are given training in self-defense, basic training in a drill with and without arms, weapons training, crowd control, leadership course, disaster management, fire fighting etc.

In order to provide the women with self-employment, they have been provided training in building painting by Asian Paints. The initiative was undertaken by Dr Kiran Naik, Commandant of Homeguard and Chief Warden civil defense and Mrs. Gouri Gajbar, Deputy Chief Warden civil defense.

25 ladies from the home guard department have been trained with wall painting, sanding, washing, primer application, wall care putty, distemper and plastic emulsion painting. They have also been certified by NSDC. This is for the first time in Belagavi that women will be seen painting walls and roofs with brushes and rollers in construction projects. After the training, they have also been employed by Konnect at a private hospital project where interior designing work is in progress.

Kudos to the department for putting the skills and energies of the women in the right direction. Women in Belagavi are certainly breaking the stereotypes, else those who have thought that the women with guns in hand would pick brushes too in time of need.