Asha Jyoti Kendra in city lacks basic facilities
Bareilly: Though the Asha Jyoti Kendra was inaugurated on International Women’s Day with much fanfare, not much has been done to provide basic facilities guaranteed by the state government. When TOI visited the centreon Sunday, it found out that the core provisions comprising round-the-clock medical facilities, legal aid and trauma counselling cell are still missing. Thecentre became functional in Bareilly along with 10 other districts of the state with the motive to provide assistance to sexual assault victims under one roof.
The government order issued in April states that a lady doctor and two nurses would permanently be posted at the centre, alongwith a psychiatrist at the trauma counselling centre. The centre is supposed to provide legal assistance to victims at their legal aid cell, while various other government schemes would support skill development of the women. A childline cell is also meant to be set up to look into all children related cases. During TOI’s visit, it came to light that only one woman counsellor and woman constable have been deputed. Moreover, no female doctor or nurses were present. The legal counselling cell, childline counselling cell and trauma counselling cell also remained vacant.
Though the Asha Jyoti Kendra has been running for more than a month, only 11 cases, mostly family disputes, have been reported till date. Seema Bharti, counsellor at the centre, said, “There is lack of awareness among victims about Asha Jyoti Kendra. Most cases that we get here are referrals by NGOs.”
Social activist Pradeep Kumar said, “In the absence of adequate staff and basic facilities, the centre is unable to fulfil its functions. Though the centre is set up to help women, it appears that they hardly get any aid. Many heinous cases of crime against women in the city have been reported in the past one month but none of the victims have turned up for help. There is a dire need to create awareness among locals about the centre.”
When contacted, district probation officer, Usha Tiwari claimed that adequate staff and facilities have been allocated to the centre. “A nurse and official for the childline have been deputed at the Kendra. Besides, there are two legal aid advisors here and they come to the centre when their help is required. However, I would look into those who were absent on Sunday.”
She said that this is a temporary arrangement. “The centre will soon be shifted to a spot behind the mental hospital, possibly in May. The platform has been constructed but readymade infrastructure will come from Mumbai. At present, we assure a skill development centre at Pilibhit Bypass to be set up within a month and any woman approaching the Asha Jyoti Kendra for assistance would be referred to Pilibhit Bypass.”
Apart from Bareilly, the state government has set up Asha Jyoti Kendras at Agra, Meerut, Noida, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Kannauj, Lucknow, Allahabad, Gorakhpur and Varanasi as a pilot project.
