Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Commissioner of Police office “inaccessible”

MADURAI: With heightened security in place around the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, many petitioners from far and near find it difficult to reach the office of the Commissioner of Police and the District Police Office (Superintendent of Police) situated close to the temple.

Movement of private vehicles, especially four-wheelers, has been banned around the ‘first ring’ of the temple zone. Even two-wheelers cannot be parked for long hours as the police tow them away from the spot, motorists say.

Last month, when the Director General of Police K. P. Jain visited the city, he reviewed the security plans at the temple with senior officers, police said. According to reliable sources, the security arrangements inside and outside the temple are expected to continue for some more months and in all likelihood they may not be scaled down.

A senior police officer in Madurai City police said that 2.47 acres of vacant land was acquired on Alagarkoil Road in 2000 for construction of a new office for the Commissioner of Police.

Soon after acquisition, the building plan for the three-storey office was approved, he said and added that the proposed plan had spacious rooms for the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioner (Intelligence Section), Assistant Commissioner (Security), Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors of Police and ministerial staff. Apart from this, a conference hall was also part of it with ample parking space for visitors and officers.

Public who visit the CoP’s office or the SP’s office have a harrowing experience with the traffic police personnel deployed near the Chithirai streets. On most occasions, the police stop them from entering the ‘security wall’ in their vehicles.

“Where will we park the vehicle,” an advocate accompanying a woman petitioner from Subramaniapuram asked. The woes are similar with petitioners visiting the office of the Superintendent of Police.

“If we come by bus, we have to walk all the way from Simakkal or if we take an autorickshaw, we will have to alight somewhere near the Avani Moola Street and walk down the road,” many petitioners said.

For their part, the traffic police say, “We obey orders from our higher ups. It is almost becoming a menace for us to stop and explain to the public wanting to visit the police office,” a traffic policeman near the Commissionerate said.

A permanent solution to the problem would be to shift the police offices from their existing place on South Kaavalkooda Street, feel public. The government should sanction funds for the construction of buildings for the new office of the Commissioner of Police.

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