Standing guard in the open, often in tense situations or those involving large crowds, the police have have little access to basic amenities. This is particularly worse for the over 6,330 women police officials who have no access to clean women-friendly toilets in the areas where they are deployed.
As a small step towards changing this, the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) vehicles have tested their prototype for a vehicle with a small toilet for use by women personnel on the field. The toilet, fabricated in Coimbatore, was installed at a cost of ₹1.5 lakh, and KSRP said they were planning to extend this to other vehicles.
“We currently have one functioning vehicle and are expecting five more. But, seeing the response and demand from both men and women for this, we want to extend this to at least 50% of the vehicles,” said Bhaskar Rao, Additional Director-General of Police of KSRP.
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The 12-sq ft toilet has been installed at the back of the bus, and comes with a 300-litre water tank, chemical-flush for sludge tank and two sewage collection tanks that can be emptied into nearby manholes during times when the KSRP or the State’s reserve police are deputed for long. By fabricating it, the police have saved over ₹4.5 lakh per toilet when compared to the ready-made models, said Mr. Rao.
During times of unrest, violence or general security duty, police personnel are the worst hit when it comes to hygiene. When a standard vehicle comes with a cook, places to store bullet-proof vests, tear-gas shells and others, why not a toilet? “We are even thinking of having a vehicle fitted only with toilets, some eight of them, that can go around these areas for the police personnel,” he said.