Demand for police station at Kattoor

Church offers land for setting up police station

February 12, 2022 06:09 pm | Updated 08:37 pm IST - ALAPPUZHA

The demand for a police station at Kattoor in Alappuzha is getting shriller.

Kattoor, a coastal region in the Alappuzha Assembly constituency, falls under the jurisdiction of the Mannancherry police station. Local residents have demanded a new station covering Kattoor and adjoining areas by bifurcating the Mannancherry station.

The Mannancherry police station, which opened in 2011, takes care of a large area, which includes the entire Mannancherry grama panchayat and parts of Aryad and Mararikulam South grama panchayats. There are 1.44 lakh people living in the police station limits. The areas covered include 46 colonies and 44 sensitive places. A Right to Information query has revealed that the number of cases registered at the station increased from 733 in 2011 to 1,900 in 2019.

Local residents say it has become difficult for the Mannancherry police to monitor the vast areas under its jurisdiction. Authorities of St. Michael's Forane Church, Kattoor, recently submitted a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan urging the government to bifurcate the Mannancherry police station and set up a new station in the coastal area.

The church also informed the Chief Minister in writing its willingness to provide land free of cost to set up the station. "It is a long-pending demand to set up a police station at Kattoor. At present, police monitoring of coastal areas of Mararikulam South grama panchayat is infrequent. Police personnel from Mannancherry need to cross the National Highway and railway gate to reach the coastal areas. It is affecting policing in the region," the letter reads.

Local residents say it is an arduous task to reach the police station, which is situated five kilometres away from Kattoor, to file complaints. "People need to catch two buses to reach the station. Due to constraints, several women and the elderly are not filing complaints with the police. Setting up a police station will help maintain law and order in the region and will be a helping hand for the fishermen community,” the letter reads.

The church submitted the letter to the Chief Minister along with a recommendation letter from Alappuzha diocese Bishop Fr. James Anaparambil.

Officials, meanwhile, said the government had not yet taken a decision on setting up a police station at Kattoor.

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