After the Royapettah police station, it’s now the turn of D3 Ice House police station to receive a makeover.
The 19th-century police station found at the intersection of Dr. Besant Road, Natesan Road and Triplicane High Road will be razed and a new building will be raised on the site.
Last week, the staff at the police station were seen shifting their belongings to a temporary space on T.P. Koil Second Street in Triplicane.
All these years, the station was being used by the law-and-order, crime and traffic wings of the police and the space was getting increasingly crammed, to the discomfort of not only the staff, but also visitors.
The station suffered extensive damage in the December 2015 floods, and more recently, during the jallikattu protest when several vehicles on the premises were set on fire. Since then, the station has been wearing a jaded look.
“This 1924-built structure has been crumbling and it should have been renovated much earlier. The station is three feet below the road. At the Royapettah police station, the Indo-Saracenic architecture of the old building was retained. We were however told there’s little hope for the old structure (at the Ice House police station),” said Manikumar, sub-inspector of Ice House police station said, adding that “Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation, which is taking up the work, has told us that the work will be completed in eight to 12 months time.”
According to reports, the station was a storehouse for ice from the neighbourhood before it was converted into a station. Much later, the station was extended with a thatched roof to accommodate the traffic wing. The two-storey building coming up on the premise will have separate rooms for all the wings. There will also be a separate space for visitors and a parking area. Currently, the traffic personnel have moved to the Royapettah police station.
