From correspondents in Uttar Pradesh, India, 03:02 PM IST

The Uttar Pradesh government has directed all colleges to set up 'special cells' to check sexual harassment and other problems faced by girl students.

'The move intends to provide secure and friendly environment to over 600,000 girls studying in over 1,600 degree colleges of Uttar Pradesh,' Regional Higher Education Officer S.A. Ali told IANS.

He said these cells would come up in a phased manner.

In the last one year, around half-a-dozen sexual harassment cases have been reported from Uttar Pradesh's different educational institutions including Lucknow University.

Each special cell will have seven members, including representatives from the judiciary, the district administration and NGOs, officials pointed out.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)