Bhubaneswar, Jul 17 (IANS): The Twin City Police Commissionerate has asked its policemen in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to focus on reducing their weight to maintain physical fitness.

Police Commissioner Sudhanshu Sarangi, in an order, asked all police personnel to get back in shape within three months or choose to retire from the service.

"Taking a lesson from the COVID-19 situation, we need to take care of our health by bringing changes in our lifestyle," said Sarangi.

He said employees, while undergoing training after joining the service, are very enthusiastic about physical fitness.

"Afterwards, their fitness degrades for which they suffer from various life-threatening ailments like hypertension, diabetes and obesity," the order said.

Sarangi has set a three-month deadline for the cops with Body Mass Index (BMI) more than 30 to shape up.

He said the height and weight of all cops will be measured to calculate BMI.

The cops will be intimated about their present BMI and measures to follow to have a healthy lifestyle. Again, a similar test will be conducted after 3 months in November this year.

If any cop fails to lose weight by the deadline, he will be asked to do compulsory exercise every morning or join a six-week refresher course on fitness.

If they fail to strictly follow the fitness formula, they may face cancellation of increment or be given mandatory retirement on health grounds, the order said.