Kerala - Kochi   

Tourism Police yet to get basic infrastructure

KOCHI: The police are heaving a sigh of relief that the New Year celebrations passed off peacefully, barring one incident of an attempted molestation of a foreign woman tourist.

The police officials, who were on the field during New Year celebrations, say incidents like this are near-impossible to prevent. The police say that intense policing has brought down instances of petty crime in the city.

The attempted molestation of a foreigner brings to the fore the plight of the Tourism Police, a specialised wing of the City Police meant to protect the traveller community at tourism spots.

The personnel for this unit were selected from the local police, and were given training and special uniform way back in 2002.

But the force was not given any basic infrastructure they needed to do their work.

The construction of an aid-post at Fort Kochi, one of the tourism spots that register most foreign tourist visits, is half-way through.

The eight men working in Fort Kochi report and operate from the Fort Kochi police station.

The spot for building the aid-post was identified at Vasco da Gama Square due to the visibility reasons and for ensuring police presence. But this proposal is hanging fire due to opposition from vendors in the area, who have the support of the local politicians.

Of late, the State government has realised the potential of the force. “Queries are now coming in from higher authorities for increasing the strength and infrastructure facilities for the force. That is a positive sign,” said Sunil Jacob, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mattancherry.

Senior officials are quite convinced about the role that these men played in maintaining law and order at tourism spots and also ensuring better services are rendered to visitors.

With a little more support, the force could be made more effective.

The aid-post at Fort Kochi was to have one rest-room, toilet, a couple of store rooms and a reception.

As one of the tourism policemen pointed out, had it been completed on time, it would have helped tourists.

Now, the foreign and North Indian tourists have to go up to Kamalakadavu for toilet facilities. The status of the aid-post at Mattancherry is also the same. The higher authorities say that the force could add teeth to the security of the coastal region as they are first point of interaction with foreign tourists.

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