VISAKHAPATNAM: With the city growing by leaps and bounds on the tourism front, the proposal for tourist police station has come to the fore once again. The Police department has been asked to send the proposal, which would be forwarded to the State government soon. Lakhs of tourists, including foreigners, visit Visakhapatnam every year. With pristine beaches, scenic Araku Valley, forest cover, irrespective of seasons, only a few other places witness tourists all through the year.
In the year 2017, Vizag received about 2,05,40,065 domestic tourists and about 1,04,458 foreign tourists. This year, the city saw 1,28,17,110 domestic and 57,694 foreign tourists so far, as per the CM dashboard. According to a senior police officer from the city, DGP RP Thakur, during his recent visit to Visakhapatnam, asked them to send a proposal for tourist police station.
“We were asked to send a report mentioning about the need for tourist police station in Vizag. The proposal will be tabled before the State government and then we would wait for its nod,” he said. According to police, in case of problems like eve-teasing, thefts, robberies, attacks, rude behaviour or even drowning, the tourists could approach the police station, which will be exclusively dedicated to tourists. The tourist police station personnel will wear special uniforms and teams will be deployed at the tourist spots for patrolling.