New Mapusa police station incomplete despite rising crime, accident rates

The work of the new Mapusa police station, which is estimated to cost Rs 6.55 crore, has still not been completed. The foundation stone for the project was laid by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar on December 3, 2013, and the deadline to complete the same was March 2015. 

During the inauguration, Parrikar had stated that the project would be completed on time as the funds had already been allocated. Deputy Chief Minister and Mapusa MLA Francis D’Souza had expressed a desire to inaugurate the building on January 26, 2015.

The contractor had started the work immediately, but as his bills amounting to Rs 3 crore had not been paid, he suspended the work for nearly six months.

The Mapusa police station is one of the most important police stations in North Goa. It has a vast jurisdiction consisting of 19 panchayats and a municipality. The population of Mapusa and the panchayat areas has increased vastly in the last 10 years, and there has also been a sizable increase in crimes, especially robberies and murders. Additionally, traffic has increased immensely, with accidents becoming a regular feature.

The old police station, which was built during the Portuguese rule, has become dilapidated and is unsafe. Hence, there was a need for a new premises with all facilities, such  as the SDPO Mapusa-I office, cabins for the inspector, sub-inspector and investigation officer, a lock-up and judicial lockup, a CID cell, home guard cell, traffic cell, etc.

After the old building was demolished, the police station was shifted to the fire station building. The space allotted to the police is not sufficient for their day-to-day operations. At times, the police station gets so congested that visitors have to wait outside the building.

The police have stated that they are eagerly waiting for the completion of the building as their current quarters is extremely inconvenient. The lockups at Anjuna and Calangute are presently being used for holding criminals.

Speaking to Herald, DyCM Francis D’Souza stated that the delay in completing the police station is due to faulty tendering procedure of the Public Works Department (PWD). He continued, “If the entire contract was awarded to one contractor, then the project would have been completed by now. The PWD awarded the contracts to different contractors for different works, such as plumbing, electrical works, etc. I am aware that the police find it difficult to operate from the fire station building on account of limited space. I have directed the PWD to complete the work soon,” said D’Souza.