Cooch Behar, May 30: Harried by frequent incidents of dacoity and with no policemen in sight, the residents of several remote villages along the border have decided to take the matter in their own hands.

Lack of a police station in the area has prompted them to raise funds and build one, which, they hope, will end the law and order problems in the area.

Residents of the terribly underdeveloped villages of Joresimuli, Magurmari and Uchhalpukuri in the Mathabhanga subdivision of Cooch Behar have to travel more than 35 km to Mathabhanga town to register criminal complaints at the only police station in the area.

The area has a police camp only, which cannot be used to register complaints.

Getting to the police station is also an arduous journey from the villages, which are merely two km from the India-Bangladesh border. First, one has to catch a ferry to cross the Sutanga river, after which he has to trudge 20 km along the embankment of the Jaldhaka. From there, he will have to take a bus to Mathabhanga.

After several unsuccessful attempts to draw the attention of the administration towards the pathetic situation, the frustrated villagers have help build the station. ?There has been no police station here, only a police camp, which is not the same thing,? said Jogesh Chandra Barman, a CPM member of the Joresimuli gram panchayat. ?There should be a place where we can officially lodge complaints with the police and that is why, we have decided to raise funds and construct one ourselves.?

He said over Rs 1 lakh has already been collected and construction has also started. ?The camp is now housed at a shelter for flood victims. We have asked the police administration to shift it to the new building, after it is finished, and upgrade it to a police station,? he said.

Though the villagers are more than enthusiastic about their project, there has been no official sanction for building a police station in the area. Praising the efforts of the villagers, district police chief Jagmohan said: ?Sanctions for police stations comes from the government. I will inform the persons concerned about this and see to it that the sanction is passed soon.?