PANJIM: Nearly 150 police officials from the ranks of the large Goa police force have failed the annual fitness test that was conducted this February. This is evident from the results of personnel from all the departmental units comprising a workforce of 6,600, right from the constable to the director general of police.
Among those who failed the test, about 10 percent are women, while all failures are aged between 50 and 60 years. Interestingly, high ranking officers passed the test with ‘excellent’ and ‘very good’ remarks.
Over 250 policemen skipped the test, either because they reported sick on the days of the physical efficiency test or were deployed to another State for training.
Those who failed have now been asked to improve their fitness, Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg said.
“They have been given about three months to prove their fitness. We have encouraged them to go for morning/evening walks, perform some physical exercises and control their diet. If they fail this opportunity also, they will be posted to PTS to undergo training,” Garg told Herald.
“We cannot expect overnight improvement from older personnel who failed the test. This being the reason we have given them time to improve on their health. Our medical experts are helping them out. Many are overweight or low on the physical strength side,” the IGP said adding they have begun sensitizing the force about importance to remain fit and maintain a good diet.
The department is slated to hold a second round of fitness test for around 250 personnel, who missed the test in February.
The mandatory multi-stage physical proficiency test was introduced over four years ago to ensure that the policemen and policewomen maintain high fitness standards and are in a state of readiness to respond to all situations. But they have normally turned out to be formalities.
This year, the fitness test started on February 10 at the Goa Reserve Police camp and Joggers’ Park, Altinho, wherein the police had to undergo measurement of height, weight and rigorous workouts for the younger group and less stressful exercises for those above 40 years.
Herald has records to show how the women police took full advantage of child care leave, pregnancy and maternity leave to evade the test in 2013, to which no action has been taken as yet. The records also revealed that a majority of policemen and policewomen managed to get an ‘excellent’ grade in the stringent examination.
The department had made the PPT an important criterion for assessment of officers in their annual confidential reports.
