Bhubaneswar, May 9: The state government has decided to build a working women's hostel here in view of the increasing number of women moving to the city for employment.

Single working women, widows, divorcees, separated or married women, whose husband is out of town, can avail themselves of the facility. However, only those working women whose gross income do not exceed Rs 30,000 a month, would be entitled to stay at the hostel that will come up at Ganga Nagar.

The 100-bed hostel is estimated to cost Rs 4.5 crore. The works department will build the complex, and land for the purpose has already been demarcated.

"Construction at the hostel will begin once the land is handed over to us. We have set the target of inaugurating the hostel by the year end," said Subhra Mohanty, deputy secretary of the women welfare division of the department.

Earlier, it had been decided to set up the hostel at Jagamara, but the location had to be shifted due to administrative reasons.

The hostel will have dormitories and rooms on the basis of single and double sharing. It will run under the guidance of a superintendent and would have adequate security provisions, including 24X7 security personnel and CCTV cameras. The department will also ask its field employees to regularly monitor functioning of the hostel.

At present, there are two government hostels for working women in the city - one behind the secretariat and another at Mancheswar. But, these facilities are never vacant, and one has to wait for at least six months to get into the dormitories and almost more than a year for a single or double-bed room.

"There is a huge rush for women's government hostels and so it becomes a little difficult to accommodate all applicants at one go. A large number of women are gradually shifting to Bhubaneswar for work. So, there is need for more hostels," said a senior official in the women and child development department.

With an increase in the number of job opportunities, the influx of women from other districts is higher than ever. While the private hostel business is booming, the condition of these city hostels are quite horrifying in terms of lack of security and essential amenities.

"The rooms at my hostel are dingy and the washrooms are never cleaned. Sneaking in and out of these hostels is comparatively easy too. But, government hostels are comparatively safer and cheaper. So another hostel in the city would be quite helpful," sad Manisha Dash, a 25-year-old who works as a receptionist.