The Department of Social Justice is contemplating opening the doors of the Ente Koodu project to destitute men in the city too. District Social Justice Officer T.P. Saramma said the Public Works Department (PWD) had been asked to prepare an estimate for the repair of the relief centre building near the Kasaba police station for the purpose. The estimate will be sent to the state government for approval.
Ente Koodu was opened a year ago as a night shelter for destitute women in the city. The old village office building near the Kasaba police station was renovated for the project. Women and girls, along with any male child below nine years of age, are accommodated at Ente Koodu at present. Around 50 women are accommodated here in two dormitories at a time. The shelter is open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. and has a caretaker, security personnel, and counselling staff.
Under the project, destitute women are tracked with the help of the police and other volunteers including autorikshaw drivers, who have been specially trained for the purpose. They concentrate on railway station premises, Link Road, Valiyangadi, mofussil bus stand, and Palayam from where destitute women are often taken to the shelter by the police. The shelter is also meant to support women who get caught up in the city owing to hartal or other issues. The counselling centre here has been able to save many women who were thrown out of their homes and were on the verge of committing suicide.
It was District Collector N. Prashanth who mooted a shelter for men who wander in the streets at night, especially during rainy season. The Social Welfare Department plans to extend the facilities of Ente Koodu to them as well, but in a separate building near by.
“As of now, the shelter is being managed very well, though a little more publicity won’t hurt. We are planning to issue badges to autorikshaw drivers who act as volunteers, so that women would not be intimidated when they approach them,” Ms. Saramma said.
