Women's Development Corporation (WDC) under the social welfare department will start 112 more special cells across the state.

At present, 23 such cells are being run by WDC in areas of jurisdictions of various police stations in Patna and its neighbouring areas.

Apart from counselling women victims, the cell also works to set up communication between the police and the victims. According to WDC officials, the recruitment process for the post of counsellors has already been started. WDC has fixed March 2016 as the deadline for the same.

At present, the special cells are present in Women's Police Station, Gandhi Maidan, Patliputra, Kotwali, Shastri Nagar, SK Puri and Kankerbagh among others.

WDC state project manager Rupesh Kumar Sinha said: "The special cell for women has been opened with the aim to help women victims who face trouble at the police stations and can't narrate their problems. The special cell has counsellors who counsel the victims at the police station."

Talking about the types of cases received in the past year, Rupesh said: "A total of 1,352 cases have been received out of which 1,032 were regarding domestic violence, 71 regarding dowry, nine regarding rape, four regarding trafficking and 16 regarding elopement."

WDC has also started working on the implementation of the Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redress) Act 2013.

"We are asking various state government departments whether they have constituted the sexual harassment committee. We would also check whether the committee has been formed in the private organisations," said Rupesh.

While WDC plans to take up new programmes, some of its existing programmes, including the first hostel for working women, which was inaugurated in Patna two years ago, is in poor shape.

The hostel, set under the Mukhya Mantri Narishakti Yojana, has eight rooms and 50 beds with provisions made for married professionals and their children. An individual has to pay Rs 3,500 to avail of the facilities.

Rupesh said: "There is a conflict between the non-government organisation and the department because of which the hostel is not functioning properly. Though we have funds to start four more such hostels for working women in the state, we would go ahead with the plan only if the Patna-based hostel runs properly."