GUJRAT: Torrential rain has once again exposed the dilapidation of decades-old building of the district police, causing a great deal of inconvenience to the public as well as the police staff.

On the other hand, work on the under-construction Gujrat district police complex has been halted for the last couple of years. The construction of the complex had been started in 2007-08 with the funding of the then Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi of the PML-Q but the estimated cost has now increased up to Rs81.515 million from the initial Rs51.66m.

However, after spending the initially released amount of Rs16.384m, work on the project was stopped by the buildings department in 2009 after which PML-N MPA Mian Tariq of Dinga had managed to get the second tranche of around Rs32m released in 2017. The amount was spent until June 2018 and since then the scheme has been waiting for the issuance of remaining funds for its completion.

The buildings department had demanded a sum of Rs32m in the current fiscal year for the completion of the project but the Punjab government could only release a meagre amount of Rs5m in the budget 2020-21.

Work on new district police complex halted for couple of years due to funds scarcity

However, it is learnt that the Gujrat DPO has recently written a letter to the Punjab police high-ups to get an additional amount of Rs27.610m released so that the police complex could be completed.

Currently, around 20 branches of the DPO office [old building] such as complaint cell, OSI branch, security, traffic, legal, reader and stenographer and others have been operative in the rooms having dilapidated conditions.

At least three branches - overseas help desk, PRO branch and doctors help desk - have been functional in a single room and that room had also been constructed with the funding from the overseas community in 2012.

Separate offices of SP (investigation) and SP (headquarters) are also located in the more than four decades old building whereas the offices for the staff of these SPs are also functional, presenting a congested look.

Whenever there is a rain, the building is submerged by water, leaving no room for the office staff and public to enter the premises. Moreover, the record of these branches would also get damaged after heavy rain of two or three consecutive days which happened last week.

Even after the rainwater is drained out of the old compound, the after effects of the downpour still haunt the staffers who were unable to sit in the office due to dampness.

A district police official said work on the new building had now entered its final phase and the government should give priority to the scheme in the larger public interest.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2020