From CK Nayak
New Delhi: A six-storied 500-bedded hostel constructed in the national capital for working women from the North East has found no takers yet.
Tagged as a ‘home away from home’ for girl students and women from the region, the hostel located opposite the landmark Apollo Hospital has found few takers even after one year of completion, thus baffling the Centre and State governments which had started the project with much fanfare.
The hostel constructed at a cost of over Rs 17 crore was meant for single women from the region including students and was a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region with active help from the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The Ministry entrusted the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) to manage the hostel given its expertise in the field and the charges were initially fixed at Rs 3000 per month for a bed which further came down to Rs 1300 per month after subsidies. Located close to the Jasola Metro Station, the 167-room hostel is well connected with public transport facilities in the national capital. Apart from well furnished living rooms and round the clock security services along with power and water back up, the hostel also boasts of a crèche. The hostel also has a guest room besides sports and recreation facilities.
The primary aim of the hostel is to allow accommodation for working women whose monthly income does not exceed Rs 30,000.
Despite all the add-ons, the lack of takers till date is gradually forcing the YWCA to take a call on its association with the hostel.
Lack of publicity and awareness among the students and working women was considered to be the main reason for the disinterested response initially, which prompted the Centre and the respective state governments to run full page advertisements in newspapers in order to attract women from the region to avail of the facility. The State Houses and Bhawans were also roped in to generate attention but in vain.
Each State from the NE region was allotted a quota of seats as per the population and other factors.
But the irony is that none of the NE states have availed their share in the hostel.
There are thousands of girls and single women from the region who are staying in the national capital, either studying or doing jobs, but very few have shown their interest in putting up at the hostel specially meant for them.
“It is baffling that there are hardly any takers despite lack of proper accommodation across the city,” a source said.
“One of the reasons could be the distance of the hostel from central and south Delhi where most of the Northeasterners reside. The other factor could be the reluctance of the inmates to share rooms with others,” the source added.
The YWCA has also decided that if the situation persists, it would be forced to allot the hostel rooms to needy girls and women from other states, which in turn would defeat the entire purpose of the ambitious project aimed at providing a secure and safe accommodation to the fairer sex from the region.