BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to project a tourist-friendly image to the world during the upcoming FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in January, the State government has planned to spruce up its police stations and personnel ahead of the quadrennial world championship. Odisha police have already prepared a list of 10-15 places in the State that witnessed a high footfall of tourists in the last few years.
Police stations in the areas will undergo all-around improvement before the world cup. “We will submit the list to the government. Once approved, the capacity of the police stations having jurisdiction over such places will be augmented. The officers of the police stations will also be imparted training on behavioural skills to ensure tourists visiting the State leave with a good experience,” said a senior officer.
Some of the tourist places which have been included by the police in the list are Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri sea beach, Konark and Lingaraj Temple. At present, tourist cells are functioning at Sea Beach police station in Puri, Konark, Nandankanan, Dhauli, Lingaraj, Brahmagiri (Satapada), Gopalpur and Chandipur.
Commissionerate police have already requested the government to enhance the manpower of tourist cells under its jurisdiction at Nandankanan, Dhauli and Lingaraj police stations.DGP Sunil Kumar Bansal said the draw ceremony to determine the pools of the upcoming FIH Men’s World Cup has concluded.