Just a small counter for police at airport

Just a small counter for police at airport

K.V. Subramanya

BANGALORE: Lack of facilities at the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli has caused inconvenience to the police who have been providing external security to the new airport, which began its operations on Saturday.

Though the State Government had sanctioned a full-fledged police station at the airport, proper and adequate place has not been allocated for the police station. The Bengaluru International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) authorities have provided a small counter, similar to a ticket-booking counter, for housing the police station.

The place is so congested that it cannot accommodate more than four people. Though two such counters were initially given to the police, one was later allocated to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that provides internal security to the airport, sources in the police told The Hindu on Saturday.

In view of the protest by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, which is demanding that the airport be named after Kempe Gowda, a huge posse of policemen has been posted at the airport. “As there is no place inside, we are sitting outside, braving the sun and rain. Fortunately, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has arranged food for policemen,” a senior police officer on duty at the airport said.
Plan

According to the original plan, the BIAL was supposed to provide space inside the terminal building for housing the police station and the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police. Now it has allocated a two-acre plot for constructing police stations, other offices and quarters for immigration staff, the sources said.

When contacted, Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration) B.G. Jyothiprakash Mirji said a temporary structure was being created outside the terminal building for housing the police station as construction of the new buildings would take time. “We have decided to take private buildings on rent in Devanahalli and Yelahanka for the newly-created offices of the Assistant Commissioners of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police,” he said.

Mr. Mirji agreed that policemen posted at the airport and other newly-created police stations in the surrounding areas have been put to inconvenience as they have to commute from Bangalore.