Valley
City Police gets shelter after 25 years
Twenty-five years after its establishment, the City Police under the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has finally received its first barracks. The newly-established station, on the premises of the Environment Manage-ment Division (EMD) of KMC in Teku, has residence facilities for 52 constables—36 male and 16 female.Anup Ojha
Twenty-five years after its establishment, the City Police under the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has finally received its first barracks. The newly-established station, on the premises of the Environment Manage-ment Division (EMD) of KMC in Teku, has residence facilities for 52 constables—36 male and 16 female.
The barracks, constructed with a budget of Rs250,000, has three dormitories for male constables and a dormitory hall for female constables. According to KMC, newly recruited constables will also be residing in the barracks. “The metropolis is also planning to build a three-storey building in front of the present station to accommodate remaining officials,” said Bishnu Prasad Joshi, chief of the City Police. KMC currently has 192 personnel under the City Police department.
City Police Chief Joshi said that with the establishment of the barracks, KMC can now efficiently mobilise its resources round the clock for the surveillance of all the 32 wards of the metropolis to maintain civil discipline.
The establishment of the barracks is great news for the female police personnel especially, says Junu KC, a female duty officer at City Police. “Now that we have a station we do not have to go back to our rented places late after duty. This is very convenient for us,” said KC, who has been with the City Police for the past 16 years.
According to KMC, such quarters should be built in four different locations of the metropolis for it would help the City Police address the city’s challenges more effectively. “Let’s suppose there is a problem in Boudha. By the time we reach the place, the conflict will have resolved itself or escalated to new heights. But if we have barracks at different locations, we can work effectively and promptly,” said Joshi.
The City Police was established by KMC in 1993 by the then Mayor PL Singh, with 150 constables. The metropolis had recruited an additional 67 city police officers in August last year to combat the increasing volume of complaints from the general public to maintain peace, safety and order in the city.