LAHORE, Nov 2: The Punjab government decided on Wednesday to recruit hundreds of sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors for highway patrolling posts, 182 of which would be made fully functional by Nov 15.

The decision to this effect was made at a meeting which was presided over by Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi here.

The government had recruited around 10,000 constables for the posts, 155 of them are functioning in the province. Their basic qualification is graduation and they are getting a monthly salary of Rs10,000 each which is higher than the one being drawn by their counterparts in police.

Officials said the decision to recruit subordinate officers had been made after the chief minister refused to borrow them from the existing strength of the police department because he wanted to change the culture of policing.

SIs and ASIs will be recruited through the Punjab Public Service Commission and they will also get a higher salary package. Their basic qualification will also be higher than the normal police, the sources said.

The officials did not tell how many SIs and ASIs would be recruited but they said their number would be in hundreds.

They said another important decision was to computerize all patrolling posts, enabling the chief minister, the home secretary and the IGP to monitor their performance through computers in their offices. They would be able to check the registration of cases by the posts and their progress with a click, they said.

In the first phase, 1,000 constables would be given computer training and the related software was being developed by the Punjab Information Technology Board. There would be a toll free number of all the patrolling posts through which people could seek help in case of emergencies like crime or even accidents.

Meanwhile, speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said a modern wireless system would also be installed in the patrolling posts so that they would function on modern lines, providing world level policing to people. The computerization would serve as an integrated monitoring system.

He said staff of these posts had been trained on modern lines, ensuring the provision of sophisticated weapons and high-powered transport to them, giving the confidence to fight crime.

The chief minister said the government was providing huge resources for bringing about basic changes in police, transforming them into a people-friendly force.

He said the police patrolling posts were also being established near all industrial zones to ensure their safety.

IGP Ziaul Hasan Khan said the operational posts had started playing an important role with regard to the safety of people. These were also serving as helpline in case of emergencies.

The meeting was also attended among others by Chief Secretary Salman Siddique, P&D Chairman Sibtain Fazle Haleem, PITB Chairman Rizwan Amin Sheikh, Home Secretary Khusrao Pervaiz Khan and other senior officials.