The 181 helpline, also called Nirbhaya helpline, which was set up to help women in distress in the aftermath of the horrific December 16, 2012 Delhi gangrape, is on the verge of closure.

The all-woman team which runs it has not received their salaries for two months now and their contracts have not been renewed. Khadijah Faruqui, who heads the 24x7 helpline, has shot off a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, seeking his intervention to rescue the service.

The helpline service continues to receive 2,500-3,000 calls every day and claims to have handled 75,000 cases of crimes against women so far.

According to Faruqui, the helpline became neglected ever since political uncertainty enveloped the city before the December Assembly polls.

In her letter to Jung, Faruqui said, "No review has been done after September 2013 and we are totally in the dark about our future. Approvals done by Sheila Dikshit for starting a one-stop crisis cell in hospitals and courts and providing three mobile vans to 181 staff members for rescue operations were also not taken up."