Police Commemoration Day celebrated

BANGALORE: Policemen getting ready to go on deputation in the near future can smile. Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda announced that the state government plans to establish state-of-the-art buildings in all the 30 district centres to facilitate them.He was speaking at the Police Commemoration Day Celebrations at City Armed Reserve (CAR) headquarters in Mysore Road on Friday.The CM opined that there were inadequate facilities for policemen who get sent to other districts on special duties. “They are not given proper lodging and timely nutritious, hygienic, palatable food and are forced to stay at schools and other buildings. This would  adversely affect their work. Hence, the government is keen to set up the buildings in all districts,” the CM said.“In the first phase, 15 districts will be getting the buildings, which will be extended to all districts in the second phase. The project is intended to be completed by 2014. A meeting with senior police officials will be convened to decided which districts should be selected for the first phase,” he assured.Meanwhile, he also opined that the police memorial should be located in a vast area and said that if the police department identifies a place for it, the government would extend all facilities to make it a model police memorial.He said the the government was trying its best to avoid interference in police work and even in transfers of police personnel.“Even I feel that the police, especially those under the rank of PSIs, are not getting the respect they deserve. Public should understand the importance of police, who sacrifice their personal lives for societal well-being,” he added.Further, he said that government had provided various facilities to the police department, including releasing a Rs 1 crorere grant for establishing N A Muthanna Memorial Police Residential School for Children at Dharwad, increasing the police welfare fund from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore, building 1,675 police quarters at a cost of Rs 134 crore and granting Rs 8 crore for modernisation of prisons.