New Town may get two new police stations. The Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate has sent a proposal to the home department to increase the number of police stations in its area and this includes two new thanas in the ever-growing township. 

The deputy commissioner of police, headquarters, Nishat Pervez, says they are lobbying hard for the new thanas. “We have sent a proposal whereby four new police stations are to be created on an urgent basis. New Town would get two thanas, namely Eco Park and Technocity. The location has not been decided. Another one would come up at Narayanpur, near the airport, and one in east Baguiati too. Land has been allotted by Hidco inside Eco Tourism Park for an outpost.”

Pervez said they are also trying to increase the number of police stations in Lake Town and Rajarhat. “There has been a significant drop in crime in Baguiati and at the dance bars along VIP Road thanks to our constant drives there. But the area has witnessed such rapid development and spurt in population that it warrants another police station for stricter vigil.”

At present, the commissionerate has 10 police stations in its 148.77-sq km jurisdiction. In Salt Lake, there are four — Bidhannagar North, South, East and Electronics Complex (Sector V) — while New Town has one, near Rabindra Tirtha. 

The airport area, has two thanas — the NSCBI airport police station in charge of the area in the immediate vicinity of the airport and the airport police station with areas like Kaikhali, Arjunpur and Mongal Ganthi under it. Lake Town, Baguiati and Rajarhat have one thana each. 

Crime and punishment 

The lone police station in New Town has a Herculean task. Not only is the area under its jurisdiction massive (it is in charge of 24.5-sq km while Bidhannagar North thana is in charge of 3.74-sq km), but its population is also diverse. 
“Alongside swanky highrises, we are also in charge of places like Hatiara (which is reached by taking a left turn ahead of the Eco Park traffic signal) and Chandiberia that are at constant risk of friction because of warring syndicate groups. No one knows where and when a clash will start. And many people there possess illegal firearms and bombs,” says an officer of the New Town police station.

These volatile semi-rural areas are far — more than half an hour away by car — and the roads are full of potholes.
Another officer adds that some housing complexes in New Town proper are far-flung too. “When we receive a call we try to respond as fast as possible but we have only two patrol jeeps. If both of them are far away on duty we are helpless,” he says.

In the mornings, the police patrol their area in the jeeps that are equipped with radio communication systems. Once evening sets in, the jeeps are joined by a couple of motorcycle-borne cops.
Another problem is that of jurisdiction. Complexes like Jal Vayu Towers, Greenfield Heights and Aloka Abasan in New Town’s Action Area I are a stone’s throw away from New Town thana but in times of need, they have to head to Kolkata Leather Complex (KLC) police station, which is more than 19 km away. The problem was reported in The Telegraph Salt Lake in the article “Line of custody control,” published on March 28, 2014. 

Complaints galore 

The KLC thana is in Bantala and it takes around 45 minutes to reach from the box bridge between Salt Lake and New Town. The Kolkata Malancha road, that one has to take, is a single lane two-way carriageway in a sorry state.
Rajdeep Ray, a member of the residents’ association of Greenfield Heights, says it’s silly that they have to report to a police station so far away. “And at night it’s next to impossible to reach it as there’s no public transport available. Even if one has a car it’s a risky ride as the road to the KLC thana is narrow and there are no streetlights,” he says.
Secretary of Jal Vayu Towers Santi Ranjan Dutta is fed up too. “Many residents rent out their flats here but few bother to take their tenants’ identity documents to such a far off thana for verification. Once a resident had paid Rs 300 to a peon to make the trip but he returned empty-handed as there was no officer present there.” 

He say they rarely see any patrol vans in their area. “And the one time that we had to call the cops they came four hours late,” says Dutta.

KLC thana has a police outpost in Kochpukur near Aquatica that is manned by an officer, two constables and four civic police volunteers. They have a Tata Sumo at their service but are not authorised to take complaints.
“If new police stations come up and the jurisdiction gets divided, it will help residents immensely,” admits Selim Hazra, an assistant sub-inspector of this outpost.

The Sukhobristi complex is 7km away from New Town thana and residents are eagerly awaiting new police stations. “More than 3,000 people live in our complex and most are either IT employees or students who live on rent. Brokers care little for background checks and we often have brawls inside the complex. I have even heard that in some flats here prostitution takes place. I would feel much safer if we had a police station nearby” said Teesta Dutta, a homemaker.

Another resident Suvankar Chatterjee, who works in an IT firm, echoed her views. “Our complex is situated in the middle of nowhere and we rarely see patrol jeeps here. Having a new police station will help,” Chatterjee said.
The Moonbeam complex, near Akankha More, is 8km away from New Town police station. “Petty thefts are common here. There are never any patrol jeeps in this area and at most we see two policemen on a motorbike near the Eco Park entry plaza,” said Rajesh Giri, the secretary of the apartment owners’ association.

Cauldron of clashes 

A senior officer says New Town, with increasing gang wars over the control of the supply syndicates, desperately needs more thanas. “We need more manpower and vehicles to patrol the length and breadth of this growing township,” he said.

“This is great news. It will help immensely if the number of thanas is increased in New Town. Rajarhat too needs more police stations,” said inspector-in-charge of New Town police station, Shankar Chowdhury. 

Do you feel New Town needs more intense policing?
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