Cap-ping the cops is their family business

THRISSUR:  A single family of Poothole here is meeting around five percent of the overall demand for 60,000 peak caps a year for the policemen in Kerala.Even after struggling for several hours a day, the three members of the family engaged in making peak caps are finding it hard to meet the growing demand.Radhakrishnan began to make peak caps 33 years ago in Tamil Nadu for livelihood.Later, his wife Ramadevi and son Sajith Nair joined him. “We make around 3,000 caps a year. It is difficult to meet the demand.We can’t compromise with the quality of the caps,” says Radhakrishnan.He started 13 years ago a government-approved small scale industry at Poothole and has been making caps for Excise, Fire and Rescue Services, and Forest officials also.“The police officials would come to buy caps directly from us. As the demand is coming from other parts of the state also, the supply is being made through police canteens,” he said.