Following the direction from the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police to reach out to police personnel, senior officials in the districts of Haveri, Gadag and Dharwad districts held special parades, visited police quarters and interacted with police personnel and their family members on Friday.
In Haveri, Superintendent of Police Ramesh Banoth, who took charge on Thursday, visited the police quarters and heard grievances of the family members of police personnel. He promised them that immediate steps would be taken to address issues the decisions on which could be taken at the district-level, and matters regarding fund allocation would be raised with higher-ups.
Later, he told presspersons that there were some minor issues which would be taken care of and as far as staff strength was concerned, there was no shortage of hands in the district.
In Gadag, Superintendent of Police K.T. Balakrishna addressed the police personnel at the special parade at DAR Ground. He then interacted with the family members of the police personnel. A policeman said that comparatively the residential quarters were better in Gadag and there were no major complaints except the issues regarding wages.
In Hubballi, Police Commissioner Pandurang Rane inspected the special parade at CAR Ground and then addressed the police personnel. Mr. Rane told them that their demands were being looked into by the government and remedial measures would be taken. He said all the police personnel were like family members and the confusion regarding the proposed strike had been cleared.
In Dharwad, Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Kumar Meena met the police personnel and their families to hear their grievances.
He told The Hindu that the families had complaints on housing as most of the quarters were old and in bad shape.
“The department has taken up repair works at 66 quarters. Some very old quarters need to be demolished. The government has sanctioned 144 new quarters for the district and when they come up, they would be among the best. They are double bedroom quarters with puja rooms and attached bathrooms. Housing issues will be solved by next year,” he said.
The police personnel sought better salaries and complained about not being able to take weekly offs, especially during the festival season.
“Some don’t take offs as it will enable them to get an allowance of Rs. 200. Henceforth, availing two weekly offs per month will be made mandatory. They were also sensitised about the facilities and pay packages available in other States and about vested interests that tried to mislead them,” Mr. Meena said.
