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Principal Secretary, department of Horticulture MK Mero unveiling the monolith of Working Women Hostel in Dimapur on Friday.[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, March 1: Dimapur now has a 48-bedded Working Women Hostel with Child Day Care Centre built at a cost of INR 1, 69, 52,000. The facility located at Circuit House colony in the city was inaugurated by Principal Secretary department of Horticulture MK Mero on Friday, March 1.
The project is a grant-in-aid under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, government of India. The Porbami Women Welfare Society (PWWS) Nagaland contributed INR 42, 37, 750 towards the project, according to Baptist Church Porba (BCP) Pastor Hüvevo Sakhamo. He informed that out of the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s share of INR 1, 27, 14, 250, the third instalment amounting to INR 15, 71, 425 is yet to be released.
Indian government introduced Working Women Hostels scheme to ensure safe, quality and affordable accommodation for women working away from their place of residence along with well-ventilated day care centre for the children of inmates.
It was informed that the Working Women Hostel in Dimapur will be implemented and operated by PWWS.
Mero said such facility (Working Women Hostel) that provides safe and convenient stay for working women is needed in a commercial city like Dimapur. He hoped that the society (PWWS) will utilise the facility well by bringing women, who share common interest, together and facilitate collective strategies to gain access to shelter and other urban services.
Sakhamo said that the hostel was the first of its kind in the district (Dimapur). He added that it aims at giving shelter to women who are working and studying; and to provide day care for children of working women with some periodical programmes like health care, counselling, and child awareness.
“The hostel with day care centre was initiated after taking into consideration the urgent need to provide shelter to women in the city who are employed in private business, houses, society, government sector, and also for those women coming from nearby towns and villages to take part in the training courses imparted by the society from time to time,” explained Sakhamo. He added that the objective of the hostel was to provide safe and conveniently-located accommodation for working women with day care facility for their children in rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist.
The hostel, he expounded would be made available to all women without any bias but preferences may be given to women from disadvantages sections of the area and women who are under training for job (provided the training period does not exceed one year). This is only on the condition that there is vacancy after accommodating working women, he added.
The number of women under training for job should not exceed 30% of the total capacity; and girls up to the age of 18 years and boys up to the age of 5 years accompanying working mothers will be provided accommodation along with their mothers. The Pastor opined that there should be provision should be given to physically challenged people too.
“Porbami Women Welfare Society is a government registered society and prior to this hostel project, it has been involved in charitable programmes that promote the status of women and children, low-income group/families. The society is also actively involved in social welfare programmes for the benefit of the inhabitants of Phek district,” Sakhamo informed.
