Bengaluru cops to now give pre-marital counselling

It's not usual for the police to act as counsellors, but now the Bengaluru police are doing exactly that. The Bengaluru City Police had initiated a women's helpline called Vanitha Sahayavani (Women helpline) in 1999. The calls are handled by volunteers and women police personnel.

In recent times, the helpline has been receiving a lot of calls from youngsters seeking pre-marital counselling. As a result, the Vanitha Sahayavani will now provide pre-marital counselling three days a week. If a person calls the helpline number 1091 on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, they can get pre-marital counselling. However, they will also take emergency cases any day of the week.

Members who work with the Vanitha Sahayavani have told Deccan Herald that the rising divorce rates is one reason why this was initiated. Counselling before marriage will help youngsters understand what it's about and help reduce divorce cases.

They also stated that many people call them citing parental pressure on them to get married. In such cases, they also counsel the parents.