Officers across all divisions of Kolkata Police have been instructed to ensure that schools, colleges and other educational institutions identified to house central forces ahead of the Bengal Assembly elections are ready by Saturday.
The first batch of central forces is expected to start arriving from March 1, with 240 companies deployed in Bengal for “area domination, confidence-building measures, poll-day duties, and guarding strong rooms and counting centres”.
The second phase of deployment is scheduled to begin on March 10.
Sources at Lalbazar said divisional commissioners of Kolkata Police have been directed to ensure that accommodations for the first batch are equipped with all necessary amenities.
These include:
- Clean rooms with lights and fans
- A dedicated cooking space where kitchens are unavailable
- Proper washrooms
- Adequate drinking water
- Proper sewerage
- Secure storage for arms and ammunition
- Clean overhead tanks and pumps.
“The officers overseeing the accommodation of central forces in each division of
Kolkata Police will visit the locations, identify deficiencies that need addressing
and immediately inform the concerned agencies to
make them habitable,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.
To streamline the process, the state’s public health engineering (PHE) department has shared its application, Dwaiyttyo, with Kolkata Police. Officers will post their requirements on the app, and the information will be shared with at least two other departments, including PWD and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, to address inadequacies promptly.
Sources said requested items for the accommodations include buckets, mugs, jars, electrical wires, plastic shades and fittings such as tube lights and regulators.
“On Wednesday, officials from the PHE and PWD departments visited several such locations across the
city in response to requests made by officers from each
of the 10 divisions of Kolkata Police,” the senior officer added.
Arrangements are being made to accommodate at least three companies of central forces in each of the 10 Kolkata Police divisions by early March. Deputy commissioners of police have sent letters to the heads of the institutions informing them of the requirements.
