PUNE: Pune city is gearing up for the coming winter as the first residents of the city’s first dormitory, which was built in 1960, are starting to move in.

The building, located at 6,000 square feet in the Pune area, was built on a vacant site, and the government recently approved the use of the site to house up to 4,000 people, including some who have lived in the dormitory for up to two years.

Pune Development Corporation (PDC) will begin construction of the dormitories in December, and will have the facility operational in January, said Nisha Kumar, spokesperson for the city government.

The city is hoping that the facility will help curb the number of suicides in the city.

“The city’s suicide rate is increasing by 20 percent in the last two years,” said Nandini Kumar, senior social welfare officer at PDC.

“We are working on ways to reduce the number and it is hoped that the dorm will also help curb that,” she added.

The first dorm to open in the entire city is located in a five-room, five-bath house that has a toilet, a sink, shower and a separate room for the women’s quarters.

The first resident of the apartment will be a resident of a private boarding house.

The Pune Municipal Corporation is working on an application for the property, said Kumar.

“There is a need for a new dormitory to be constructed in Pune to house those who have been staying in the area for two or more years,” she said.

The facility is slated to open sometime in January 2019.

The next step in the process is to find a space for the remaining residents, said Ramanan Devi, an official at the PDC, adding that the city has been working on the project for several years.

“This project is being developed as a public-private partnership and will be completed by the end of this year,” he added.