Regarding the issues concerning police department that keep on pending with the State Government to the detriment of policing like setting up of new police stations, converting police posts into police stations and establishing new police posts, Uttarakhand Home Minister Pritam Singh assured that the State Government will take steps to resolve these issues soon.
Several police stations in the state cover large areas and effective policing is not possible unless police posts are adequately upgraded. For instance, in Rudrapur area under Udham Singh Nagar district, there is only one police station which covers large areas. The solitary police station caters to around 1500 industrial units existing there aside from a large population. One can imagine how effective policing in the area can be, given the area remaining under the charge of the single police station in-charge.
In Dehradun district, Raipur, Raiwala and others also cover large areas and correspondingly, the number of police stations is abysmally low. Several police stations in the state covering large areas cannot cope with crime cases as effectively as they ought to, spawning insecurity among the common people.
Besides, the people travel long distances to report in the police stations- an ordeal they are putting up with as there is no alternative left to them. Circumstanced thus, people living in such vulnerable areas feel insecure as neither policeman from the police station concerned nor those from neighbouring police station conduct patrolling in the area. Criminals, seemingly aware of this policing lacuna, are committing crimes and fleeing with impunity. Demarcation of several police stations areas apart from establishing new police stations and police posts is an imperative to curb crimes and instill confidence in the people in policing.
It is learnt that in order to maintain law and order and provide better administration, state police had sent several proposals, seeking establishment of 19 new police posts under the existing police stations and also establishment of eight police stations under the revenue police areas of the State. But these proposals keep gathering dust due to the bureaucratic dithering, spawning questions over the strength of State Government’s resolve to effectively checkmate crimes and the criminals.
The police posts for whose re-jigging the state police has sent proposals to the State Government are Guptkashi and Agustmuni in Rudraprayag district, Harshil in Uttarkashi district, Govindghat, Garisain, Kaliyar Sharif and Sedcul in Haridwar district, Prem Nagar in Dehradun district, Campti and Hildolakhal in Tehri district, Mukhani and Banbhulpura in Nainital district, Chaukhutiyal in Almora district, Kausani in Bageshwar district and Dankaiya, Pulbata, Transit camp, Kelakhera and ITI in Udham Singh Nagar district.
The revenue police areas where police have sought police stations are Tyuni in Dehradun, Mori in Uttarkashi, lambgaon and Thatyur in Tehri, Thalisain in Pauri, Danya in Almora, Pati in Champawat and Kanda in Bageshwar. Moreover, there are large number police posts in the state which are bereft of the basic amenities like rooms, toilets, prisons for locking up thieves and the like. Such proposals sent to the State Government are yet to be cleared.
When this correspondent asked the Home Minister Singh about these issues hanging fire, he said, “We are alive to the gravity of the problems the police are encountering. State Government would soon take steps to resolve these issues.” Observers said people would view with interest how more time the State Government would take to address these issues. “Home Minister Pritam Singh’s assurance sounds good. However this is not enough to make the people shed their skepticism over the State Government’s seriousness on the matter,” one of them said.