Government-Run Thozhi Hostels Provide Affordable Housing For Working Women In Chennai
The Tamil Nadu government’s 'Thozhi' hostel initiative is providing safe, affordable, and accessible accommodation for working women in Chennai, helping them enter and remain in the local workforce. Managed by the Tamil Nadu Working Women’s Hostels Corporation Limited, the hostels offer modern living spaces and essential amenities to ease the transition for women moving to the city for employment.
At the Chennai hostel, residents can access a spacious double-sharing, air-conditioned room for ₹10,620 per month, with no additional charges for electricity. The facility also offers low-cost meals, with breakfast costing ₹40, lunch priced at ₹50, and dinner at ₹40, with an option to add an egg for ₹10. To minimize food waste, residents use a daily WhatsApp poll to coordinate meal preparation with the hostel's cook.
The hostel is designed with inclusivity in mind, featuring accessible amenities for differently-abled residents, including specialized rooms, ramps, and elevator access. A key feature of the facility is its on-site creche, which allows working mothers to reside with their children up to five years of age. While the mothers are at work, trained caretakers supervise the children, allowing women to balance childcare and their professional lives.
In addition to basic housing, the hostel provides washing machines on each floor, and some locations feature a dedicated gym and a sick room. The infrastructure is built as a green building, utilizing eco-friendly construction materials, solar panels for electricity generation, rainwater harvesting, and other water conservation systems.
According to Pawan Kaipa, the CEO of Tamil Nadu Working Women’s Hostels Corporation Limited, the program has grown to meet widespread demand. Currently, 25 Thozhi hostels are operational across 21 districts in Tamil Nadu. The hostels do not require a Tamil Nadu domicile, making them accessible to women from all over India working in diverse fields such as law, medicine, public relations, research, and journalism.
