Upgrading Punjab Police along modern lines, says CM Mann

The Sadak Surakhya Force has been entrusted with the task of checking rash driving and streamlining vehicular movement to check road accidents, Mann said.In the initial phase, 129 vehicles equipped with ultra-modern gadgets have been deployed every 30 kilometres to police the roads.

The Punjab government is working on upgrading the state's police force along modern lines for effective and responsive policing, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Wednesday.

Addressing a gathering in Jalandhar's Phillaur before flagging off 410 police vehicles, he said this is the first time that SHOs are being allocated new vehicles, according to a release.

Noting that SHOs are the real face of the Punjab Police as they connect directly with the people, Mann said this move is contrary to earlier trends when new vehicles were given only to top officers instead of those at the grassroots level. Mann said the state government has launched a 'Sadak Surakhya Force (Road Safety Force)' to check fatalities due to road accidents and streamline traffic movement.

This first-of-its-kind specialised force is acting as a pivotal unit to save precious lives that are lost in road accidents daily. The Sadak Surakhya Force has been entrusted with the task of checking rash driving and streamlining vehicular movement to check road accidents, Mann said.

In the initial phase, 129 vehicles equipped with ultra-modern gadgets have been deployed every 30 kilometres to police the roads. These vehicles will also have a complete medical kit for providing emergency treatment, he said.

The force has been instrumental in reducing the death rate within a fortnight. Thirteen road accident deaths have reported in the last 15 days against the earlier average of 17 per day, the chief minister claimed.

These are just preliminary results and road accidents will be brought down further in the future, Mann said and added that this force will be instrumental in reducing the burden of the district's police and help improve their efficiency.

Being a border state, a number of inimical forces plan nefarious designs to disturb its hard-earned peace but the Punjab Police has always foiled such attempts, Mann said.

''To further overcome major challenges, it is imperative that the police force is updated as per advanced requirements in the field of investigation, science and technology,'' he added.

The chief minister said the Punjab government is committed to upgrading and modernising the state's police along scientific lines.

Mann said his government has already decided to recruit 1,800 constables and 300 sub-inspectors every year to overcome the scarcity of personnel.

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