Kerala govt plans 'studio apartments' for working women in all districts

Thiruvananthapuram: At a time when safety and security of women is a major concern, the Kerala government is planning to set up ‘studio apartments’ across the state for working women with an objective to ensure their safe stay while arriving for a job in a different place.

The Department for Labour and Skills has already launched the construction work for the pilot project at Kinfra International Apparel Park campus in nearby Menamkulam last year, Labour Minister V Sivankutty said.

The project would be expanded to other districts based on the availability of suitable land and adequate funds, he said in a written reply submitted in the Assembly.

The ‘studio apartment’ project is envisaged to provide a decent and secure lodging facility on rental basis for women labourers employed in unorganised sector in cities, he said.

The ‘Bhavanam Foundation Kerala’, which was entrusted to implement the project, had leased 0.733 acres of land within the Kinfra campus for the initiative.

“A six-storey studio apartment complex, with 130 units, is being built in the Phase-1,” the minister added.

The studio apartment complex is one of the major housing schemes being implemented under the Labour Department.