RAWALPINDI: Every guest deserves a small gesture from his host to make him feel at home, but majority of the additional police called to Rawalpindi to assist the local police during the upcoming Azadi March were forced to spend their first night under open sky and wait in long queues for toilet due to ‘mismanagement’ at the Police Lines Headquarters.

To add to their woes, a canteen established on the premises of Police Lines Headquarters increased prices of food items as the contingents of extra police, including regular police, Special Protection Unit (SPU) personnel, Punjab Highway Patrol (PHP) officials and police from Police Training School, Rawat, arrived at the police lines, Rawalpindi, late on Wednesday night.

Among the police contingents, over 440 police personnel arrived from Police College, Sihala. The additional police were assured that they would be served a breakfast and meal at night, while there was no mention of lunch.

Many of them have to spend night in the open

“The canteen vendor has increased the prices of biscuits and samosas from Rs15 to Rs25, which is unjustified,” a sub-inspector who arrived from Sihala College told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

He revealed that he along with his some colleagues spent the night under open sky while some took shelter in verandas as there was no space avaialbe inside the barracks.

“There was no water to use in toilets as long queues could be seen outside,” he said, adding that the police personnel turned to toilets of the mosque.

However, another sub-inspector told Dawn that he along with his fellows arrived at the police lines on Wednesday night after taking meal at the Sihala College canteen.

“We were adjusted in a hall though the space was insufficient. The Reserve Inspector (in-charge police lines) assured us that things would be set right shortly,” he said, adding he along with his colleagues had been using toilets of the mosque.

Other police officials said that because of high prices of food items at the canteen they went outside the police lines in search of food and other items.

Police Lines Reserve Inspector Sohail Mumtaz told Dawn that over 2,500 police personnel had arrived on Wednesday night and more would reach tonight.

He said the extra police were being provided all facilities, include meal and accommodation.

He said that the police contingents were being shifted to different police stations where they would be facilitated by the concerned SHOs.

A senior police official said that the extra police were being shifted to different police stations to accommodate them and to ensure their availability for deployment in case of sealing of roads with containers and razor wires.

Meanwhile, Saddar SP Rai Mazhar Iqbal and Potohar SP Syed Ali visited the exit and entry points in their respective jurisdictions and assessed as how to seal them in emergency situation.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2019