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

A head constable attempting to drive away birds with the help of a rustic shake-the-stones-in-a-bottle method at Sewri where they have been stationed after the 26/11 attack

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 nearest latrine is half a km from this desolate spot and we need to take a good half-hour break to use it," says Patil even he swings his palm to kill a blood-sucking mosquito on his thigh. "And, the mosquitoes are a nuisance. With the Sewri mangroves in front and the open drain behind, there's no respite," says colleague Metkari.
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.

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 Read Next Story Kingfisher staffer commits suicide› Trending Stories Latest Photos Latest Videos Latest Web Stories ADVERTISEMENT Mid-Day Fast ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT