HYDERABAD, Aug 8: Three new districts carved out of Hyderabad are facing shortage of police force and other problems as police force of only those police stations which were a part of undivided Hyderabad has been absorbed and no extra force has been provided to the new districts.
Inquiries by Dawn on Monday revealed that the operation wing of police of these districts faced problems of infrastructure and vehicles. The operation wing of 4,615 policemen of undivided Hyderabad was distributed among the new districts. Now, Matiari has 14 police stations, Tando Allahyar six and Tando Mohammad Khan two.
One of the problems of the police force in these areas is the non-availability of vehicles. There are around 220 police vehicles, 45 per cent of which have almost become redundant. About 37 vehicles are off the road. Of the 220 vehicles, 173 are now with the Hyderabad district and the remaining have been distributed among the new districts.
The police force meant for escort and VVIP duty, banks, courts and jails was not divided as it might have led to countless difficulties. Transportation of prisoners alone is a big task for police, requiring 250 policemen to take and bring back prisoners to city and outside courts of the districts.
Until few days back, DPOs and SPs of the investigation wing of the new districts did not have their own offices and proper accommodation facilities, forcing them to return to Hyderabad during the night. Presently, they are using offices of area TPOs and they continue to draw salaries from the account of the Hyderabad district police.
Sources said police needed escort vehicles, prisoners vans, police force’s carriers and motorbikes for patrolling. A proper SNE (sanctioned new establishment) for each district’s requirements has been sent to the Sindh government for approval. Under the existing circumstances, police may face problems of transportation of polling personnel and ballot boxes in the new districts. They will have to borrow vehicles from Hyderabad.
Even police in the defunct Hyderabad district were under-strength as only 4,600 policemen were posted there against the requirement of 15,000. In case of any emergency, lawlessness or any major event in the city, police force from rural areas used to be called which would not be possible under the present circumstances.
During the last 15 years, more than 20 police stations had been created in undivided Hyderabad but their strength had not been sanctioned, said an official source. The requirement of police force for undivided Hyderabad and other districts had been sent by police authorities to the Sindh government but they had not received any serious response from the provincial government.