If a crime takes place on Chorao Island, residents have to visit the Chorao police outpost not merely to report the incident, but to pick up the constables and take them to the crime site.
After all, four constables at the Chorao police outpost cannot be expected to do much in the absence of police vehicles at their disposal.
“The government has not provided us with an official vehicle. We are forced to rely on vehicles provided by the people or else, we have to use our private vehicles to attend to various cases in the island and we are not even entitled to reimbursement of our petrol expenses,” said one constable.
“The public gets aggrieved when we cannot reach the crime site quickly and only a few concerned residents understand our plight of having to move around without official vehicles. Besides, the present building is in a terrible condition as rainwater has been seeping and pieces of the slab have been falling down. The panchayat has assured to give us space in a renovated building. But till then, we are stuck here,” the constable added.
And while the Chorao police outpost is geographically closer to the Old Goa police station, residents have found it difficult to access the police station due to ferry service restrictions.
They have now demanded that the Chorao police outpost be affiliated to the Bicholim police station, which despite being further away, has easier road access.
For one of the largest islands in the State with a landmass of about 9 sq kms and nine panchayat wards, Chorao is a huge area for the four constables to manage, especially without official vehicles.
“Merely deploying constables in the island without vehicles will not resolve the problem. Chorao has a population of about 10,000 and many houses are located in isolated areas, making them easy targets for criminals,” said Norton Heredia from Karabhat ward.
Another resident, Santosh Volvaikar, agreed with Heredia: “Security is important, especially at night and if the police can undertake night patrolling activity, it will enhance safety and security in the island. Else, it is useless to deploy policemen just for namesake.”
Former Chorao sarpanch Requeta Colaco recalled that Chorao Island had been earlier provided with two-wheelers for patrolling duties. “The police could do night patrolling with the help of these two-wheelers and this was of great benefit to residents in the island at the time,” said Colaco.
Agreeing to the demand of Chorao Islanders to link the Chorao police outpost to Bicholim police station, Colaco added: “Old Goa is not easily accessible and has always neglected Chorao Island in providing security. Bicholim is closely connected to the mainland and I welcome this proposal.”
Chorao Panch Shamba Kalangutkar said the panchayat will provide better premises to Chorao police outpost. “The present building is in very bad shape and it will be repaired by the PWD. The panchayat will also pass a resolution and send it to the government to demand police vehicles for the Chorao police outpost,” said Kalangutkar.
When contacted, Old Goa Police Inspector Krishna Sinari said he was aware of the inconvenience faced by constables at the Chorao police outpost.
“I have requested for two-wheelers to be dispatched to the outpost and it is for the government to decide accordingly,” said PI Sinari.
Aggrieved over the condition of the Chorao police outpost, the Chorao Villagers Action Committee (CVAC) visited a senior police official at the district police headquarters in Porvorim on July 31. The police official had assured to provide two police motorcycles to the Chorao outpost, but the promise is yet to materialize.
Responding to another demand to have the police outpost detached from the Old Goa police station and linked to the Bicholim police station, the police official advised the CVAC to have a resolution to that effect passed at the Gram Sabha. After a detailed study, the proposal could be taken up for consideration, the police official told CVAC.
