Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on board the river police station at Fatuha in Patna on Friday. Pictures by Sachin

Fatuha (Patna), May 20: Inaugurating the maiden river police station at Maujipur village, chief minister Nitish Kumar today asked the cops to enrol kids loitering on the streets to nearby schools.

Nitish said the task would be easier if the parents were taken into confidence and their wards were admitted to the schools.

“When the NDA government came to power, 12 out of 100 children were out of the schools. Now the ratio has come down to three,” he said, unveiling the police station, about 30km east of Patna.

The chief minister said he was happy to learn that some policemen had started taking classes in schools in Naxalite-affected Aurangabad district in the absence of teachers. “But be cautious while picking up the children of the poor from the streets. It may create panic among the parents,” he said.

Enlisting a number of schemes launched for schoolchildren, the chief minister said uniform was provided initially to the students up to Class VIII. Then cycle scheme was launched for the girls from Class IX to XII.

“Now, boys are also being provided with bicycles,” he said, adding that 12.5 lakh bicycles have been given to the school students.

Stressing the need to enhance the literacy rate of women, the chief minister said once they become educated, nobody would befool them.

Iterating the commitment of his government to provide a better law and order situation, Nitish said river patrolling has been initiated with a view to ensure safety and security to the people living in the river belts. “The river police station will not only help maintain law and order but also provide relief in case of a natural calamity,” he said.

He said initially five river police stations would be set up. “There are plans to set up 18 more river police stations to patrol three important rivers, the Ganga, Kosi and Gandak,” he said. Nitish said the idea to set up a river police station came to his mind during the Kosi floods in 2008.

He said women police stations and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes police stations would be set up in every district of the state.

The chief minister said 45,000 police constables and 5,000 sub-inspectors would be appointed in phases in the next five years to match the national police-public ratio.

He assured residents of Fatuha to consider their demands for upgrading it into a sub-division.

Speaking on the occasion, director-general of police Neel Mani said the state police had witnessed a qualitative change in the police administration during the present dispensation.

Earlier, additional director-general-cum-managing director of the Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation (BPBCC) Ashok Kumar Gupta welcomed the guests.

Energy Minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav was also present on the occasion.