Marine Drive cops deserve spacious police station

The Marine Drive police station, which is to be relocated, on February 3. Pic/Shadab Khan

A section of SoBo locals are opposing the relocation of Marine Drive police station. The colonial-era structure will be razed for the construction of upscale apartments mostly for senior IAS/IPS officers.

Instead of increasing the area of Marine Drive police station, it's being relocated to a building deep inside the lane where the total area is that of a chicken coop.

Senior police officers told mid-day that public works department personnel have been sending them letters to leave the barrack. Residents are upset because if the Marine Drive police station is shifted behind a BMC-run pump house, it will not be easily accessible to residents, especially senior citizens. No four-wheeler can access the narrow lane.

Making the police work in a building where there is barely any space to stand or operate freely will compromise the efficiency of the force to an extent.

Downsizing does result in demoralisation and a feeling of being demoted. When there is a need for a space to accommodate personnel and vehicles, an alternative needs to be found, instead of merely pushing people to another place.

When a location has to be changed, the move should be visionary, looking at the current situation and with an eye on the future.

With so many educational institutes, old buildings and landmarks replete with history in its vicinity, this police station is a very important hub, which is not to say that others are not vital. If its personnel must be moved, they must be put up in a similar or more spacious, well-designed facility.