‘’How can we go out to the public with these rickety scooters?” asked a women cop in the city. She was echoing the crisis faced by all women cops who are regularly on patrol on these ‘exhausted’ vehicles.
The poor condition of patrol vehicles is not new to the Police Department, which regularly gets new vehicles. But once the shine is lost, the vehicles are dumped at some local stations. As far as the women’s cell here is concerned, the women cops conduct patrolling in front of colleges and schools and also the bus stops and other places in and around the city either in uniform or in civil dress. With the shortage of scooters, they find it difficult to reach ‘trouble spots’ in time.
The government had earlier sanctioned four vehicles for the cell back in 2006. These same vehicles are used by the cops even now. Interestingly, these age-old ones often break down and are regularly taken to the workshop. “Of the four Kinetic Hondas allotted for patrolling, three are in a piteous condition and are in workshop now. These have been off-road for more than six months,” an officer at the cell said.
In fact, after these four vehicles were allotted in 2006, a few years since the cell started functioning here, the cops have had no option but to use these old ones and now they are forced to depend on the only one in running condition for official duty.
As per instructions, the vehicles cannot be repaired in private garages, in order to ensure quality service for all the police vehicles. Usually, vehicles needing repairs are taken to a workshop under the Armed Reserve Camp and brought back after a temporary revamp.
Sadly, the situation is similar in other cells in the state.
Police sources confirmed that only one scooter was now in use in the City Women’s Cell, which has a strength of ten personnel. And this women’s cell has become a place where a large number of women approach and many call for help. It is when they receive phone calls that the cops find the going tough.
According to the Circle-Inspector of the women’s cell Latha, they have forwarded a letter seeking new scooters. “The government has approved our proposal to sanction new vehicles. But a formal announcement has not been made yet. We hope to get the new vehicles soon,” she said.
The women’s cell, started years ago, looks into the grievances of women, particularly harassment, neglect, desertion and even family discords. The cell is tasked to uphold the rights and dignity of women and in under certain circumstances, register cases against culprits.