It’s meant for a select group, but ever since the lockdown following the Covid-19 pandemic, the women and child helpline, 181, has been flooded with queries related to ration, curfew passes, pensions and other requests.
More worryingly, three calls related to Protection of Children from Sexual Offences(POCSO) Act and six to domestic violence, slightly more than the average, were among 1,612 calls received during the lockdown.
On regular days the helpline receives up to 1,200 calls a month of which 50% are related to children requiring counselling or other help and 40% to women in distress. About 10% calls are made by senior citizens, said Vikram Jeet Godwani, state helpline manager in Chandigarh.
SURGE AFTER LOCKDOWN AND APRIL EXTENSION
During a month of lockdown, from March 23 to April 23, 1,612 calls were received, of which a majority (749) were made in the first nine days (till March 31) by people asking for ration and cooked meals and enquiring about shelter homes and curfew passes.
“People said they hadn’t received ration for four days. The details were shared with the director, social welfare department, who then got a list made and details of 300 such cases were shared with sub-divisional magistrates of the areas concerned,” said Godwani.
{{/usCountry}}“People said they hadn’t received ration for four days. The details were shared with the director, social welfare department, who then got a list made and details of 300 such cases were shared with sub-divisional magistrates of the areas concerned,” said Godwani.
{{/usCountry}}ABOUT 580 CALLS WERE FROM PUNJAB
In April, again, 863 calls were received with a surge reported after the April 14 lockdown extension, when people started making requests for passes. “We got 150 calls related to passes, 100 after April 14,” he added.
On Thursday night the police called to say a woman whose husband had died at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) was insisting on returning to her hometown after her husband had passed away. “But by the time we contacted her and arranged for help she had hired an ambulance and left,” Godwani said.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND POCSO CASES
On the cases related to domestic violence, the helpline manager said they got four to five calls on average, but six calls were made during the lockdown. One complaint was made by an IT company employee who accused her parents of torturing her, “so we informed the Mohali police about it through the district legal services authorities,” he added.
The cases were reported from Khuda Ali Sher, Manimajra, Khuda Lahora, PGI Complex, Sector 47, and Mohali’s Phase 11.
Three calls related to POCSO were also made and the helpline workers were keeping a close watch on 90 cases of marital dispute registered with it. However, conclusive number can’t be drawn from this figure with regards to domestic violence cases, as they are mainly reported to the police or courts.
2019: Marital disputes, child abuse
Of the 1,123 calls received by the women’s helpline from October 2015 to December 2019, a majority of complaints (377) were related to marital dispute, 136 to domestic violence and 104 to harassment. About 861 calls related to children were received of which the highest number (151) was related to POCSO. About 122 required counselling
What changed during the lockdown
Calls made: 1,612
Need ration/food - 286
Movement pass - 150
Pension queries- 100
Follow up of previous cases - 140
Women related issues query- 220
Senior citizen related facilitation - 50
Calls from Punjab - 580
Others - 86