UP: Helpline for 'women in distress' defunct when possibly needed most

NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government’s helpline for women in distress - 181, which was meant to provide immediate relief to such women, has gone defunct at a time when it was possibly needed the most.
Started after the Nirbhaya gangrape in different states, it was launched in UP by the Yogi government in March 2017 with much fanfare and was touted as the universal helpline number for providing immediate and 24-hour emergency response to women affected by violence of any form and rescue (where necessary).
However, no dispersal of salaries to staff for the past one year and mere assurances from the government, has rendered the helpline defunct at a time when it could have been of most help to women in distress.
The helpline which had been receiving as many as 80 calls per month from women facing different kinds of violence including acid attack, sexual harassment, eve teasing, domestic abuse, etc, has completely stopped functioning since June 6 across the state including Gautam Budh Nagar at a time when as many as 156 calls have been received by the police for suicide/attempts to suicide and at least 15 women, have died of suicide.
Calling on the 181 helpline now means that one has to listen to the operator which continues to say that the number is busy.
Not only is the helpline number not functioning, but the closed user group (CUG) number provided to the “sugamkartas” where calls from Lucknow centre of the helpline would fall to, have also been shut since the past two weeks.
Further, the “rescue van” which was supposed to be at service of women in distress and “rescue” those in emergency is parked near the office of the district probation officer (DPO) since the past one year as it does not get fuel.
The few sugamkartas who were deployed to attend to the calls and provide service/information/counselling to women in distress are the worst hit.
Only three of them had been working in December 2019 out of which, two discontinued their services as they were not paid salaries since July 2019.
Shanvi Bano, incharge for the one-stop centre of Gautam Budh Nagar told TOI that when she joined the centre, there were three sugamkartas for attending to the calls.
“One of the sugamkartas left in January and another left soon after as she was unable to meet expenses as they were not paid salaries since June 2019. Only one sugamkarta was working since then, but since the helpline number was shut and the CUG number too was disabled, she too has stopped coming,” she said.
Preeti Rani (26), the last sugamkarta told TOI that she had been managing to attend office and take calls transferred from the Lucknow centre till the lockdown was imposed.
“We are entitled to a salary of Rs. 19000 and would usually get Rs. 16,225 after deduction of provident fund and ESI benefits. However, I have not got my salary since July 2019. I am staying at a friend’s place because I can’t afford the rent. My father would help me out in meeting the expenses but since the lockdown was imposed, it became difficult for him to also help me. I stopped going to office since the CUG number too was stopped,” she said.
Ruchi Pratap, team leader of the sugamkartas told TOI that they have recently received letter from GVK-EMRI- the company operating the helpline stating that they will have to discontinue their services from June 5. “We have been told that our dues would be paid only after the government releases funds,” she said.
While that wait continues, for the sugamkartas and the drivers of the vans, it has become difficult to meet even daily expenses.
They have written a letter to the additional labour commissioner, Lucknow saying that while the central and the state governments were running multiple schemes for women and the scheme was supposed to run till November 2020, “the notice for discontinuation of services was criminal under the epidemic act and the disaster management act, calling for cancellation of the notice.”
When contacted, Manoj Rai, director, women welfare department, Lucknow told TOI that while the government is seized of the issue, they will try to pay the employees their due but it will “take time.”
“The government is actively seized of the issue. The GVK has not paid its employees because the government hasn’t paid the company. We are committed to paying them but will take time. The decision is pending approval at the cabinet level,” he said adding that they will soon issue a fresh tender with another vendor.
Asked whether the old sugamkartas would be roped in for the services again, he said that since they were GVK’s employees, he could not assure that and it was too premature to comment on the same.
“However, we will pay them for the entire period they have worked,” he said.
Sunil Yadav, spokesperson for GVK-EMRI told TOI that they have not got any budget since March 2019 for running the helpline from the UP government. "We have paid employees from our side till July 2019. We do not have budget due to which, we are unable to run services," he said.