The government working women’s hostel established at Cantonment in Tiruchi has been receiving good patronage.
The Social Welfare and Women’s Rights Department inaugurated working women’s hostels named ‘Thozhi’ across the State in July. Operated under the Tamil Nadu Working Women’s Hostel Corporation Ltd, the facility is aimed at providing safe and affordable accommodation to women.
The 160-bed hostel in Tiruchi was built at a cost of ₹5.63 crore with two and four sharing rooms, air-conditioners, lift, a pantry with fridge, microwave oven, purified drinking water facilities, 24/7 security arrangements, free Wi-Fi, biometric attendance, a recreation room, washing machine, and geyser facilities.
Children of working women, up to the age of 18 for girls and up to the age of 5 for boys, can be accommodated in these hostels with their mothers and a day care facility is available for them.
According to hostel managers, options to book rooms for days come in as a plus for women travelling for work. “Women from both high- and low-income categories, who are mostly working in private sectors, stay here. We usually get reservations for days and weeks rather than months,” she said. At present, a majority of the rooms are occupied, and over 50 reservations were made in the last two months.
N. Karthika, a bank employee, who has been staying in the hostel for over a month, said: “Before, I was staying at a private hostel in Thillai Nagar, which was so cramped and overcrowded, and there were no proper security arrangements. But the rooms here are spacious, and we feel safe.”
According to the hostellers, the tariff at the government hostel is competitive and less than what that of private accommodation. “I completed graduation and am working in a private company and taking part-time coaching for competitive exams. I am a native of Pudukottai and joined the hostel a week ago. The fee is nominal compared to private hostels,” said K. Shivani, a hosteller.
Booking of beds in the hostel can be made for a year, a month, a few weeks and even days. The monthly rent of a non-air-conditioned twin-sharing room is ₹3,500 while a four-bed room is ₹2,500. Air-conditioned rooms are available for a higher rent.
To check the availability of rooms and make a reservation, visit www.tnwwhcl.in/
