Soon, another helpline for women in UP

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh would soon have another helpline number for women. This one would be to provide information and counselling to those in need of help.

It would be part of Asha Jyoti Centres that would soon be started in 11 districts of UP by the department of women and child welfare.

The kendras would be onestop centres for comprehensive care and support in the form of psycho-social-legal services to women survivors of violence.

“The centralised 181 helpline would provide linkages to statewide emergency/crisis helplines like 1090, 100, 108 etc. It would be localised to the district of location of the particular Asha Jyoti Kendra, so as to supplement the centralised helplines and reduce response time,” said officials of the women and child welfare department.

The helpline will also provide a key entry point for women seeking information/referrals and linkages, as well as for those requiring short-term counselling services, added officials.

On behalf of the women and child welfare department, a company would manage the helpline, said sources. The process for the same is already underway.

The work for the Asha Jyoti Kendras has started. The centres would be started under the UP State Women’s Empowerment Mission. The districts include Ghaziabad, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly, Lucknow, Kannuaj, Kanpur, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Ghazipur, and Varanasi.

Funds for the centres have already been released and designs for them are ready. As per the plan, they would be set up in some medical colleges and would be pre-fabricated structures to avoid construction time.