The Vijayawada City Police Commissionerate, gateway to Velagapudi, is facing a severe shortage of staff resulting in heavy burden on the personnel in the capital.
Due to the shortage and non-allocation of top-level officers, many cases are pending.
The traffic, cyber cell, city security wing and central crime station and other units are facing severe problems, say the police sources.
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According to them, only 2,500 of the sanctioned 3,800 are allocated. There are no Rapid Action Force, Quick Response Teams and Central forces allotted to the Commissionerate.
The Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Special Branch DCP and Additional DCP (Crimes) posts have not been vacant for the last few months. In all, about 10 hotels, the State guest house, Gannavaram Airport, railway station, Pandit Nehru Bus Station, function halls (where government programmes are being held) and dharna chowk are located in the city.
The Chief Minister, Cabinet Ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs, foreign delegates and other VIPs stay in the hotels almost everyday. But the number of police stations has not been increased.
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Tough job
Besides the Chief Minister’s camp office, residences of many Ministers and bureaucrats, DGP’s camp office, Police Commissioner’s Office, head offices of many police units such as the Vigilance and Enforcement, Anti-Corruption Bureau and many government departments were set up after the government had moved to Vijayawada in August 2015.
“It is a fact that we are facing shortage of staff, particularly after the government has started operating from Vijayawada. Only eight Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP) platoons, each consisting of 20 personnel, have been allotted to the city. It has become a tough job for us to arrange bandobust for VIPs, foreign delegates, protests, traffic regulation, Cabinet meeting, Collectors and SPs conferences and other programmes. We are also facing shortage of vehicles,” a top police official said on condition of anonymity.
Poor mobilisation of forces for the MRPS event at Guntur led to violence.
Members of the AP Police Officers Association urged the State government to allot the sanctioned strength for better performance of the force.