VISAKHAPATNAM: Police personnel at
Arilova police station are forced to work for hours before they can go and relieve themselves due to lack of toilets. The situation is worse for women cops who have no other option but to go to neighbouring houses to answer call of nature. According to sources, city police commissioner
T Yoganand was surprised to see the dismal condition of the police station during his visit recently.
The officers attribute the pathetic situation to space constraint and said the problem can be solved if the police station is given land to expand. However, this problem is not limited to
Arilova police station alone. Many other police stations across the city do not have enough toilets besides waiting rooms for complainants and visitors.
Arilova police station was established as one of the outposts of Three Town Police Station with a head constable and two constables on April 1, 1998. Since then, it has been a single-room station with only a small toilet in the lock up room. The entire building is also in a dilapidated state, sources said.
The outpost was converted into a full-fledged police station two-and-a-half years ago for administrative benefit and the personnel strength was also enhanced, but the facilities were not improved, sources said, adding that the police station has around 40 personnel.
“We have no alternative but to work in such conditions. The neighbours are good people and allow us to use their toilets. But dealing with over 50 cases of family disputes, domestic violence, drunk driving and other cases on a daily basis in such a situation is not easy,” a woman cop told TOI on conditions of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Dr CMA Zaheer Ahmad of AN Beach Hospital said it is inhuman to have people working at places without toilets. “If there are no proper toilets, people tend to cut down on their water intake to reduce the frequency of having to use the toilet. But this will lead to other problems. If there is a scarcity of space, temporary toilets can be set up that requires lesser space. The best solution is to shift the police station to a bigger land,” he said.
When contacted, the city police chief said he has already brought the issue to the notice of higher officials. “GVMC authorities have ready agreed to provide space to the police station near Mudasarlova Reservoir or some other bigger building. We hope to solve the problem soon,” he added.