Working women face accommodation problems

Working class women looking for accommodation in the city find it hard to get a decent roof to live under. With very few options for decent hostels, girls and women, who prefer some space and comfort, are deprived of an appropriate facility in the surroundings.

Given that there are vast number of opportunities that were thrown open for the moderately educated youth hailing from the nearby villages of Krishna district, their living and travel has emerged a concern. Lack of proper Paying Guest (PG) facilities is definitely an issue to be focused on.

On an average, the pay scale of the youth employed into the branded jewelry, textiles, brand outlets, salons, shopping malls and multiplexes vary somewhere between Rs 8000 to Rs 15,000. Majority of employees from these service sector oriented jobs travel from nearby villages for nearly 15 to 25 kilometers to reach their work station every day. People from Guntur and Eluru also travel to the city to earn their living.

K Rani, a beauty expert working in a famous salon near Convent Road said, “I was working with the Guntur branch of the same salon earlier. Later, I was transferred to Vijayawada branch and ever since, I am doing daily shuttle between two cities. I looked out for suitable place to settle down here but couldn’t find any.”

Gola, who hails from Manipal said, “I work as a receptionist at a famous spa. I prefer to stay in residential facilities so that I can cook for myself. I was denied a house on rent. Only after finding another girl from North India, we hired a private room.”

In this scenario, existing hostels for women are very less. Many of these accommodations are centered in the Labbipet area of the city. For employees who are working in the corporate sector and students coming from far off States, there is absolutely no option of PG facility, since people are not so open to the culture, as yet. Finding a hostel with Air Conditioned single room is also close to impossible for many.