There is good news for people of Coimbatore as the men in khaki will soon be patrolling the crowded streets on mounted horses.
The Coimbatore City Police have taken steps to revive the Mounted Horse Unit, which has been defunct since 2006. “The city has a sanctioned strength for 10 horses. But we are planning to start with five horses,” said City Police Commission A. Amalraj.
The policemen will patrol at the VOC Ground and Park, Race Course and Nehru Stadium regularly in the early hours of the day when people hit the road for their morning walk and also in the late hours of the day when the public throng these places in large numbers. Horses will also be used for crowd management and clear the road when they are blocked by protestors.
As the first step, the city police have invited applications from interested persons for the post of Syce for maintaining horses, on a temporary basis. They will be sent to the Mounted Horse Unit in Chennai for training. The sun bath and gear for horses are also getting ready at the Police Recruits School (PRS) Ground.
Preparatory arrangements for horses are very important as it is not easy to maintain them. The arrangements include well trained personnel to maintain horses by giving them the routine sun bath, massage and exercise. Getting the feed sanctioned for the animals is also important.
A senior police officer said that horses are either bought by the State Government or donated to the department by breeders (mostly industrialists and those participating in horse races). While the department has asked for horses from the government, a few businessmen in the city have also come forward to donate mules.
The effort to revive the unit was taken in February and after the elections the government has given the nod. However, it is learnt that it could take a few months to see them in action as horses as well as their handlers need training.
