State-of-the-art Sakhi centre now in Secunderabad

HYDERABAD:  Secunderabad will have its own exclusive Sakhi Centre for rehabilitating women in distress. The Women Development and Child Welfare Department started a full-fledged one-stop centre at SD road.  The new centre will be supplementary to the Bharosa Center in Nampally and take in women and children who are victims of various kinds of violence.

Speaking at the inauguration, Minister for Women and Child Welfare, Ch Malla Reddy urged women to make use of the facility for all services, ranging from medical, legal to psychological, provided here free of cost to women in distress. The opening of the centre comes at a very crucial time as last year, the city and the State saw an increase in reporting of cases of rape, with rapes increasing from 1,414 in 2017 to 1,565 in 2018. 

Hyderabad as a metro city is also notorious for domestic violence and complaints of dowry harassment. 
The state-of-the-art Sakhi centre spans three floors. The centre has a play area for children. It also has a canteen and gym facility. “We will be informing local police stations in the area to send victims of distress to the centre so that they can have a place to stay safe,” added Girija Bodupally, state program director. The officials also plan to start a third centre in Banjara hills. Women can dial 181 for details and assistance.