Mosquitoes catch cops off guard

The police, who are duty-bound to guard the city and its residents round-the-clock, work in unhygienic and adverse conditions. Around 20 per cent of the Delhi Police field staff are suffering from dengue or chikungunya. 

In a visit to 27 police stations across the city, Millennium Post has found stagnant water and mosquito breeding on the premises. Besides, no preventive measures have been adopted to check mosquito breeding. Fogging is yet to be carried out in and around the police stations, say officials.

Senior officers of around 78,000-strong force admit that their men work in difficult conditions. However, they added that there were no plans to help them out.

In almost all police stations, around 30 to 35 personnel have been diagnosed suffering from chikungunya or dengue. Cops of the district police, Crime Branch, Special Cell or traffic police are suffering from vector-borne diseases. They are on medical leave and some of them have gone to their hometowns.

“The facilities provided to a policeman exist only on paper. The ground reality shows a different picture. We work in adverse conditions. Mosquito-breeding is common at police stations. Fogging is hardly carried out. Besides, we are not provided with repellents to battle mosquito menace,” said a constable deployed in a police station in North Delhi, requesting anonymity.

Another policeman posted in South-East district shared similar sentiments. “No preventive measure has been adopted to check mosquitoes,” he said.

“A number of policemen are on leave and their recovery time is a concern as it is affecting policing.” said a senior police official, requesting anonymity.

It was also found that SHOs of some police stations are paying from their own pockets to ensure fogging in and around the facilities. 

It’s shocking that unlike previous years, the department has neither issued a circular, nor organised an awareness programme, guiding police personnel on measures to check spread of dengue and chikungunya.