Rajnath Singh orders new facilities for lady cops at police stations

NEW DELHI: The home ministry has asked all state governments to set up clean and secure toilets as well as rest rooms for women personnel in police stations, setting the ball rolling for a long-pending basic provision within days of the Narendra Modi-led government taking charge at the Centre.

"The inherent police work requires long working hours, and involves outdoor activities such as patrolling, security duty on several occasions, touring in and outside the district and states. It is difficult for women police officials to keep a balance between the household essential duties and professional activities without a robust organisational and infrastructural support by the government for a stress-free working environment," the ministry said in a letter to all state governments last months, within days of the new BJP-led government taking over at the Centre.

The home ministry has asked all states to include building lockable rest rooms and toilets for women personnel in every police station "on priority" in their action plans for 2014-15 by claiming funds from the ministry’s scheme of modernisation of police forces.

"At existing police stations, outposts and barracks, a provision must be made for suitable toilet facilities for women personnel including separate hand washing and shower facilities with adequate supply of water," says the letter, written by secretary (border management) Sneh Lata Kumar, adding that there should be a separate rest room as well for women cops at every police station.

According to the ministry’s direction in the letter, "The rest room needs to be separate from other parts of the workplace and it should be clean, secure and located at a convenient place close to the toilet. The room and the toilet should reasonably be accessible to the women police officials so that their security is not compromised." The ministry added that the rest room should be big enough to be used as a changing room by the women personnel.

A ministry official said it was a shocking state of affairs that basic facilities such as a separate toilet and rest room for women personnel were not available in a majority of police stations in the country. According a count done by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, there were 84,479 women personnel accounting for 5% of the police forces across the country on January 1, 2012.