BENGALURU: Lucknow police are doffing their hats to their Karnataka counterparts. They are so impressed with Karnataka police’s ‘cowboy hat’ -- which is light, airy, cool and comfortable-- that they want to give it a try.
The summer heat in Lucknow has been giving a tough time to traffic cops there. Based on their request, the top brass there planned to ditch the khaki colour woollen caps and instead go in for cotton ones. Speaking to TNIE over the phone, Purnendu Singh, Additional Commissioner (Traffic), Lucknow, said, “Summer here is harsh. Our personnel are extremely uncomfortable donning woollen caps. They have been requesting for a change and we have zeroed in on the cotton hats worn by the Karnataka police.”
The officer explained, “Our team looked up for options online. They scanned uniforms of several states and found the Karnataka traffic police hats very airy and comfortable. They also look neat.”He said that the Karnataka police use hats that have ventilation and also avoid the sun.“We submitted a proposal in this regard to the deciding committee and are hopeful that it will be approved in a month,” he added.
“We are hoping that our request gets approved. Woollen caps are unbearable. It’s literally like the movie dialogue “Aata majhi satakli” ( I have lost my mind) due to unbearable heat produced by wool. We loved the Karnataka ones. They are airy too,” said a police personnel from Lucknow on condition of anonymity.
Purnendu Singh said, “We have asked a local shop in Bengaluru to give us 50 such white hats. Once they get approved, we will get them made there or we might even seek Karnataka police’s help.”
S Parashivamurthy, Additional Director General of Police (admin) here, said, “We have so far not received any request from UP. However, it is a good idea to change from woollen caps to cotton ones.”