The city is one among the leading tourist destinations in the State. Apart from religious tourism, the beaches have been a major attraction both for domestic and international tourists.
To make the stay of the tourists hassle-free and give them more protection, the city is all set to have an exclusive tourism police station with a dedicated force under the commissionerate. This will not only be the first of its kind in the State but also in the country.
There is a dedicated tourism police force in Goa, but this is under the control of the Department of Tourism and not under the Department of Home. Similarly, there is a small detachment in Kochi, Kerala, but it is not a full-fledged police force with a dedicated station, says Commissioner of Police T. Yoganand.
Composition and role
A proposal for instituting a dedicated force with an exclusive police station has the approval of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and is likely to be cleared shortly.
As per the proposal, 200 personnel, including officers, are sought to be recruited, and they will be trained to handle the tourists.
“The idea is give the tourists a friendly police force. Besides ensuring that the tourists are not fleeced by cab and auto-rickshaw drivers, the police will protect them from eve-teasing and theft,” says Mr. Yoganand. The proposal has been worked out after gathering feedback on how the force works in Goa and Kochi. “The dedicated force will intervene and perform all policing duties, but will refer cases to the concerned and nearest police station,” Mr. Yoganand told The Hindu .
“The force will function under the commissionerate, unlike in Goa, where it is assigned to the Director of the Tourism Department. The Director is empowered to arrest and impose fine, and it has been cleared by a special Act of the legislature,” he said.
Though there will be only one exclusive police station, there will be detachments with all communication equipment and vehicles at all tourist destinations such as Yarada Beach, RK Beach, Rushikonda, Simhachalam temple, railway station, RTC bus stand, and Kanaka Mahalakshmi temple. The force will function under at least one ACP rank officer.
Drowning incidents
Apart from regular policing, the tourism police will pay a special attention to drowning incidents at beaches.
In Goa, apart from the regular police force, the tourism police are assisted by 400 lifeguards. Ever since creation of both the forces, incidents of drowning have come down drastically in Goa.
“We have a similar aim, as the drowning deaths have gone up abnormally here,” said Mr. Yoganand.
There were 400 incidents of drowning and 451 deaths from 2013 to March 2016. And most of the incidents had taken place at RK Beach, Yarada, and Rushikonda.
“There are only 18 community guards manning a coastline of 90 km, and we need to enhance their number to at least one hundred. They will assist the police force. We are working out a CSR model,” said the Commissioner.
