Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Narendra Kerekadu

Mangalore, Jul 9: The area of need-based construction of well-equipped police stations got additional attention and added momentum since the formation of a commissionerate in Mangalore. A number of police stations like Bunder, Pandeshwar, Urwa, Kadri and Barke among others, have got a face lift, and are now functioning in own buildings which can be considered safe and comfortable. However, Mangalore rural police station stands out as an exception.

The rural police station, which covers 16 villages located in the outskirts of the city, does not have its own building. Since the last four years, this police station has been functioning in a building which earlier was a privately owned rice mill. The building, which is over five decades old, is in a bad shape, devoid of basic amenities, and keeping arms and files safe here has become a daunting task.

The rural police station came to be known as Kankanady police station for the reason that it functioned from a building by the side of the old road between Pumpwell and Kankanady. About two decades back, it was shifted to Kaikamba Junction near Bikarnakatte. Four years back, The station was shifted temporarily to an old rice mill building at Maroli, as it faced shortage of space after the over bridge built at Kulshekhar Junction extended to a part of the building where it was located.

Tiles of this old building have broken at several places, and water liberally seeps inside from the roof of the building during the rainy season. As it was earlier a rice mill, the roof is 20 feet tall. Hence repairing the roof has become a challenging proposition.

The building is devoid of lights and fans. The staff are held responsible if the files go missing or suffer any damages, and they might even be suspended for negligence. The staff are expected to keep the files safe and intact, although the building does not have facilities to maintain them properly. It is learnt that the police station was reprimanded by a court earlier for failing to protect a file from getting soaked by drops of water which leaked from the roof. The police find safekeeping of files as a formidable task.

Because of these problems, most of the records are now being preserved in computers. Here too safety issues have arisen. The electric wiring system of the building is in very bad shape, with wires which have come off the walls dangling from various spots. The computer of the station faces the risk of getting spoilt in case of wild voltage fluctuations.

This police station does not have a cell, also known as lockup, which is a basic necessity for any police station. The policemen face the ordeal of having to make the accused sit on a bench, and post a policeman exclusively to keep an eye on his movements. It need not come as a surprise if the arrested person hoodwinks the person posted to keep vigil on him and sprints away.

The windows and doors of the building are as good as being not present. This station is not equipped with closed circuit TV. As this station does not have a strong room for the preservation of arms and ammunition, these too face insecurity. The station has 51 policemen including three women, but the toilet, which happens to be the most basic necessity, is located about 200 metres away from the building. The roof of the toilet is in shambles, and can crash at any time. The wireless tower of walkie talkie, which also happens to be a basic need, is installed by setting up a temporary tube. As its height is not sufficient, the policemen find it hard to either send or receive emergency messages because of the sound made by vehicles which move at great speed on the over bridge nearby.

The rural police station has the largest area under its jurisdiction among the stations located within this commissionerate. Its coverage area spreads from Pumpwell to Arkula on national highway 66, and till Netravati Bridge in the south and Gurpur Bridge in the north. At present, the commissionerate is considering a proposal to split this station into two, by retaining one unit at Bikarnakatte Kaikamba at its present spot, and the other at Vamanjoor.

Mangalore north MLA, Mohiuddin Bava, has informed that buildings have already been provided to two police stations located within his constituency so far because of his efforts. He has assured to put in efforts towards providing a proper building to the rural police station, by raising this issue in the assembly session. This has kindled a hope of the station getting a new building before the onset of the next monsoon. A visitor to the rural police station is sure to turn doubtful about the ability of the policemen to protect the interests of the citizens, taking into consideration the fact that they are finding it hard to protect their own assets and belongings.

At the time this police station was shifted to the age-old rice mill four years ago because of space crunch on temporary basis, the agreement was to house the station in this building for only six months. There was no proposal to pay any rent for this building. Even after four years since this agreement was inked, the police station continues to be in the rice mill building belonging to Yashoda. She is patiently waiting for the police station to vacate her building. At the same time, the police department has not shown the courtesy of at least fixing some minimum monthly rental for this building so far.

The tahsildar says his department is prepared to conduct search and set aside a site for housing the rural police station in the city outskirts, if such a proposal comes before him. He adds that such a request has not come to his department from the commissionerate so far. Police commissioner, R Hitendra, says that the issues concerning the rural police station have already been brought to the attention of the legislators and ministers.