Picture this. A woman living in a nondescript village in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district is being followed by a few men while she is walking back home. She takes out her mobile and dials 181 – a helpline number dedicated to rescue women in need – in a hope that someone would be able to help if things were to go wrong. In all likelihood, that help may not reach her.

On March 8, 2016, the Uttar Pradesh government had launched a helpline number — 181 — which was a 24-hour, free-of-cost helpline. The scheme aimed to provide a rescue van to a victim upon a single call to 181 during her hour of need.

However, three years down the line, the scheme is languishing away due to the government’s apathy and lack of funds. The ‘One Stop Center’ is losing steam because it does not have the funds to fuel its rescue vans or provide salary to its staff.

Ironically, Uttar Pradesh tops the list of crime against women as per the 2017 report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). As per the report, which was released recently, 3.59 lakh cases of crime against women were registered throughout the country in 2017, out of which, Uttar Pradesh had topped the list with 56,011 cases.

“The entire staff is mentally distressed as we have not received our salaries for the past 6-7 months. Our household are also witnessing tiffs now. In such a scenario, how would we be able to help other women when we ourselves are victimized?” asked a staff member of Uttar Pradesh’s Women Helpline, not wanting to be named.

“No case is being seriously considered in the absence of the remuneration for the past 5-6 months. We can’t help it. We can help a victim only if we’d have the 181’s rescue van,” she added. More than 350 all-women staff working here has not received any remuneration since February.

Rescue vans are standing idle

The aim of the helpline number was to help women who call and report issues regarding crime against women. The staff at the centre assesses the criticality of the matter and then the staff stationed at One Stop Centre (Asha Jyoti Centre) in various districts are dispatched to the victim’s house in the rescue van providing free of cost assistance to her. The One Stop Centre and 181 are interlinked facilities, but now the government seeks to separate the two.

At present, the 181 rescue van stationed at the district level has been standing idle for lack of funds. The field counsellors are unable to help victims from door-to-door. Only those cases that can be resolved over phones are being sorted out at 181, neither a victim is being rescued nor is a case being followed up.

Women Helpline 181’s project head Ashish Verma informed: “While most of the calls are rescue calls, we haven’t rescued any woman since June. We have notified the higher authorities, as soon as the payment would be made, we’d resume our proper operations.”

An attempt was made to contact Monika Garg, the chief secretary, Uttar Pradesh Women Welfare Department, but the call wasn’t received.

The women helpline number was teed off as a six-seater pilot project named ‘Aapki Sakhi Asha Jyoti Kendra’ across 11 districts of the state. Seeing the good results of the project, Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath government had included it in its ambitious schemes and provided it an extension.

The Women and Child Welfare Department’s former cabinet minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi had, on June 23, 2017, launched the statewide operation of ‘Aapki Sakhi Asha Jyoti’ and women helpline 181, increasing its capacity from six-seater to 30-seater. Many field counsellors were appointed for the 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh and rescue vans were provided to them.  

Lack of facilities and declining phone calls

An official of the One Stop Centre, who wished to be anonymous, informed: “The amount of facilities that ideally should have been provided were not there even in the beginning. Now, a new mandate, issued on July 26, 2019, has called for massive changes. Previously, an official was appointed at a monthly salary of Rs 40,000 which now has been reduced to Rs 24,000.” She added: “The staff strength was inadequate even at the beginning. Now that too is reduced further. One rescue van was inadequate and now even that is dysfunctional due to lack of funds.”

Verma added: “The phone calls number is also fast reducing. Without funds, every possible help is given only through phone but the rescue vans and staff stationed at the district level are unable to provide doorstep support to the victim as we do not have money for the diesel.”

During March 2016 and March 2017, when the helpline operated as a pilot project in 11 districts, it received a total of 13,30,139 calls. From April 2017 to March 2018, 17,93,402 calls were received. From April 2018 to March 2019, 21,56,173 calls were received. However, between April 2019 and August 2019, only 8,15,359 calls were received.

Over 5 lakh women got benefitted

The responsibility for the execution of this scheme was given to the private firm GVK MRI for five years. Since February 2019, the payment to the company from the department was stopped. The company paid the salary till June out of its own account so that the scheme may be in running, but still no funds got released.

Now this firm is no more in a position to run the scheme. The staff has not received any remuneration since July and the rescue van are standing idle.

Uttar Pradesh’s 181 women helpline has benefitted over five lakh women victims, whereas over two lakh women have been rescued so far. Thousands of victims of domestic violence have been counseled and reconciled with their families. Several child marriages have been intercepted.