CHENNAI: Next time when you visit Kotturpuram or Foreshore Estate or Marina police stations, do not feel surprised if you see a rack brimming with books welcoming you. In a people-friendly initiative, the Mylapore police have set up these libraries at nine stations in the Mylapore police district.
Indian Bank sponsored provision of furniture, while the books would be sourced from the public, police said.
The initiative is the brainchild of Mylapore Deputy Commissioner V Balakrishnan, who had set up a small library outside his office at Mylapore after he took charge here a year ago. The officer said that he had also set up similar libraries during his previous stints in Tiruvannamalai and Theni districts and the response had been positive.
The process for expansion began more than a month and half ago. “When the DC approached our bank with the idea, our board of directors approved of it as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sanctioned the sponsorship,” M Karthikeyan, General Manager (Corporate Communications) told Express.
The basic idea is to make the public feel at home. “Many a times, policing duties requires Inspectors or station in-charge to be away from the station. While waiting in a police station, the complainants shouldn’t feel intimidated. That’s the reason why we came up with it,” Balakrishnan told Express.
From Kamarajar to Karl Marx, the library has books on important political leaders and also books and magazines meant for light reading.
Balakrishnan feels that this would also help erase the negative image usually associated with visiting a police station.
The library will also be useful for the families of police personnel. “For instance, in Mylapore and Kotturpuram, the quarters are just behind the station. The children and women can make use of the library,” he said.
Public can take books from the library and return them at their will, police said. Apart from Mylapore which already has the set-up, mini-libraries have come up at Kotturpuram, Foreshore Estate, Marina, Ice House, Royapettah, Abhiramapuram, and three All-Women’s Police Stations at Kotturpuram, Mylapore and Royapettah, a police officer said.