Former Air Hostess to Launch Helpline for Women Air Travellers

HYDERABAD: Amrita Ahluwalia, the air hostess who shot to fame after rescuing a child bride in 1991, is all set to launch a helpline in the city to help women air travellers in distress and the crew of Airlines operating to and fro from Hyderabad.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, Amrita, who retired from Air India this August, said “There is not much change from the time I have rescued Ameena from being sold to a person from Saudi Arabia in the name of marriage and now. Our judicial system has many loopholes and people easily get away by committing some heinous crimes. Even today, scores of children are being sold and there is no one to save them. In order to provide them a platform to share their grievances, I am going to start a Helpline, which will be called Amrita’s Helpline.”

Amrita’s Helpline will be launched here on January 1 and will have a designated centers at the airport and at the Director General of Police office. Three volunteers will be working round-the-clock to help women in distress and Amrita will be supervising them.

The main objectives of the helpline is to develop a support system for assisting deprived women air travellers who reach home country in a shattered condition, to provide possible facilities for people departing at domestic and international airports and to provide possible immediate transit/short stay facilities to people arriving at the national and international airports in the country.

“Apart from providing financial help, we are going to provide all other kind of help through our helpline. Counseling, tracing family or NGOs for the purpose of ensuring care and protection, and looking for possible welfare and rehabilitation methods are among our main agenda,” Amrita said.

The air hostess, who was diagnosed with  cancer in March 2014, said that she is going to dedicate the rest of her life for social service.

Telephone numbers and other details of the helpline will be disclosed on the launch day.

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The New Indian Express
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