A premium accommodation for working women at affordable rates is getting ready in Kochi.
The She Lodge facility of the Kochi Corporation, which is coming up at Ernakulam North, is likely to be opened for women by the end of the month.
As many as 80 rooms will be available for women to stay. Of the two floors, the topmost two will be reserved for working women who may stay for longer days in the city. The remaining floor will be kept apart for those who come to the city for short stays.
The nearly ₹2.5-crore project, which is being set up as a socially beneficial scheme of the civic body, is in the final stages.
Though the corporation is yet to finalise the monthly room tariff, it will be nearly half the rate for which rooms are offered to women in the city.
The civic body has engaged an agency to come up with suggestions on tariff after assessing the prevailing rates. The final decision on tariff will be taken by the corporation council, said a civic administrator.
The corporation decided to utilise the space for working women and those who come for short visits to the city after taking a leaf out of similar initiatives in other cities. There were restrictions for families to stay together in the facility, as it was exclusively meant for women. Boys above the age of 14 were also not allowed to stay with their mothers in the facility, which led to complaints. Hence, the corporation decided to reserve the space exclusively for working women.
The facility is being set up at the building owned by the Corporation on Paramara Road near Ernakulam North. Earlier, a hotel was functioning from the building. The building was later used to house the 32 families who were evicted from the banks of Perandoor canal. The civic body had to shell out a significant amount for restoring the building. At present, the subsidised food outlet of the corporation is functioning from the building.
Food for inmates will be provided from Samridhi@ Kochi, the affordable food outlet of the corporation. The security and maintenance aspects will be taken care of by members of Kudumbashree units, said a civic administrator.