City cops are up 24x7 at the city's sensitive spots. Often, there are no loos nearby, no resting place and no restaurant or chaiwallah ka tapri nearby, writes Gajanan Khergamker
City cops are up 24x7 at the city's sensitive spots. Often, there are no loos nearby, no resting place and no restaurant or chaiwallah ka tapri nearby, writes Gajanan Khergamker
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WADALA police station's head constable Gangaram Laxman Patil sits with colleague Bhagwan Metkari right below a tree at Sewri, near the erstwhile Colgate Company. They sit here throughout the day after relieving the night shift, fighting the stench of an open drain, the onslaught of mosquitoes and the stark absence of a single latrine in the vicinity.
The night watchmen have it even worse, claim daytime cops. Snakes crawl out of the open mangroves and a wrong move could spell trouble. "We have just this one platform to sit on that's raised and hopefully out of easy reach for snakes, scorpions and other creatures," says Metkari.
Even here, they've had to employ an innovative method to drive away the cranes and seagulls that come to sit on the tree. They've tied a bottle filled with stones high up on the tree and each time they need to get rid of the birds, they pull the rope that shakes the bottle tied to it to make a rattling sound and drive away the birds.
Since the terror attacks, there has been round-the-clock surveillance at Sewri and at Machchimar Nagar opposite Badhwar Park, where the terrorist first alighted. "It's impossible to sit here for more than an hour without feeling like throwing up," says an exasperated police constable stationed at the spot. While there's a pay-and-use toilet in the vicinity, there's no stopping the hundreds who have turned the zone into a virtual open-air bathroom as they defecate there day in and out for free!
"There isn't a single restaurant nearby to have even chai. It's an ordeal being posted here. There are absolutely no amenities. In the nights, it's impossible to stay here as there's no overhead shack or even any kind of weather-protecting gear for us to wear when it gets cold," says a constable, reluctant to reveal his identity. "If it weren't for a few Koli families here who offer us chai and nashta, it would be very difficult for us to work here," he says.
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Constables performing their round-the-clock surveillance duty at an open drain; battling the stench, onslaught of mosquitos and risk of diseaseu00a0Photos by Gajanan Khergamker |
While the police personnel posted at renowned religious venues like Siddhivinayak get their meals from restaurants within the complex itself or nearby eateries and place to camp and rest a bit if needed, it's the smaller temples like the Shankar Mandir just beyond Colaba Causeway, where the police personnel are left twiddling their thumbs for want of amenities.
At spots like the Shankar Mandir at Strand among the older temples in Colaba the police personnel have little option but to occupy benches outside the mandir to grab a bit of shut-eye by night. They're an odd sight as they're surrounded with local beggars and roadside regulars who've made the temple's exteriors their home.
At Girgaum Chowpatty, for instance, the beat's a pretty spot with loos in place and eateries around the corner, but then elsewhere, it isn't the case. Even as Mumbai police continue to work around the clock to instil confidence among citizens, grumbling as usual, they're actually up and about even at a time when we're fast asleep.
What we need to do is to identify a list of regular surveillance zones in the city, on its beaches, along other water-fronts, at railway stations, sensitive spots and work towards providing them with some basic make-shift amenities that are also required 24x7. After all the hard work the police put in to safeguard the city and its people, the least they need should be well in place and not offered as a dole.
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