Last week, a partially blind girl who had taken an autorickshaw from the Thampanoor bus stand was allegedly raped by the driver. He reportedly took her to an isolated spot, instead of her actual destination, East Fort. The incident could perhaps have been avoided, had there been a facility to guide her at this key transit point. One such facility could soon become a reality.
The city Corporation is in the final stages of setting up the first of the women’s help desks in the city at Thampanoor. Last week, Mayor K. Chandrika had a meeting with traffic police, the Public Works Department and National Highway authorities to identify the exact location for the help desk.
Visible location
“We are looking at an area near the pre-paid autorickshaw counter adjacent to the parking area at the railway station. The important consideration is that it should be visible to everyone. We have to discuss with railway officials regarding this,” said Palayam Rajan, chairman of the Corporation’s welfare standing committee.
The help desk will have one woman civil police officer and one warden, to be selected from among Kudumbasree volunteers. Those who have proficiency in more than two languages will be selected for this purpose. The desk will have a computer with all the relevant details concerning the city.
All information
“Women walking out of the railway station can get any information they want from the desk, be it hospitals, educational institutions, police, or transport. The volunteers will provide guidance for those who are new to the city. We plan to make the system more effective by implementing an automatic alert message service for those getting down at the station. The desk will also have a cloak room and toilet facility,” said Mr. Rajan.
The second help desk will be set up at the Thampanoor bus station. Clubbed with the help desk is a project for a short-stay home for women, which is nearing completion at Sreekanteswaram.
Work started in March last and now the ground floor of the two-floor building is 80 per cent complete.
