The barracks at Margao Police Station which houses a huge number of police officials has been in shambles for years now. Four constables residing in the barracks are suspected of having contracted dengue and malaria and one more constable has asked for sick leave after he complained of body pain. Constables residing at the barracks have to adjust three to a bed and have to make do with two toilets for 60 policemen. This is a story of just the Margao Town Police Barracks. There are a total of eight barracks and policemen in all of them have to go through these hardships. With filthy smelling toilets, broken structure and extremely poor maintenance, Margao barracks have become hell for the police.
The horrifying tale of the trauma at the barracks was narrated to Herald by one of the policemen on the condition of anonymity. The second floor of the police station lie the barracks of several police attached to Margao Town, Maina-Curtorim and other constables. It houses constables of Margao Town, Maina-Curtorim, lady police constables, traffic cell staff, Superintendent of Police office staff, Deputy Superintendent Staff, Superintendent Reserve Police and Home Guards.
The present status of the barracks has become worse than ever before. Margao Town Police have a barrack for the 60 Constables in service. These 60 constables have to adjust with 15 metal beds. These beds neither have mattresses nor bed sheets on them. The barrack has a toilet block which has only 2 toilets and one bathroom. It is surprising to see how these 60 policemen adjust in these conditions. “The barrack is cleaned by a worker only twice a week. We have to clean the toilets ourselves. Are we college students in a hostel?” asks an employee in utter frustration.
It was shocking to see that a barrack as large as a double bedroom flat housing 60 constables has only 2 tube lights. “The block has 5 ceiling fans from which only 3 work. We are the man force for a secured town but we don’t know whether we will be secured from diseases and the demoralisation which is rendered to us by these bad facilities,” said an employee. “Every constable here gets a washing allowance of Rs 300. However, we are spending Rs 1000 a month for laundry. There is no possible place where we can wash our clothes,” complained yet another constable.
“There used to be meetings of high rank officers with the constables in the past as an exercise to know the problems of the work force. But lately, that has almost stopped. This system needs to be revived as soon as possible to avoid the trauma faced by our able police,” said Advocate Kapil Phadte. “I doubt that the constables have been speaking about their problems at length. That is the reason I urge the Government to step in and bring the house to order as the demoralisation of the police will someday finish the efficiency of our police,” he added.
“I have seen these boys in this state for quite a long time and fail to understand how and why they are subjected to such bad conditions even after sacrificing so much for their duty,” said a senior official at the Police station. The police will be demoralised if the facilities are not improved on time and a revamp of the barracks is the most important change to get back their lost morale.
