Gujarat police to dress in style

The NID-designed uniforms will be durable, wrinkle-free with anti-bacterial finish, having ultra-violet ray protection. Moreover, the uniforms integrate functionality and fashion suitably to make work more comfortable, according to a senior IPS officer.

The uniforms will have fragrance finish as it will emanate sweet smell of jasmine, rose and lemon to ease stress during work hours, said the officer, who is a member of internal committee formed for evaluating the designs.

He said the NID-designed uniforms have been highly appreciated by all the members of the committee.

“Though most of the designs have been approved in principle by the committee, the final decision will come from the government, which we hope will be soon,” the official added.

An NID official also said the evaluation committee has approved the designer uniforms.

“At a meeting last week, they (evaluation committee members) have in principle approved the designs for general police and traffic police, with some minor suggestions,” coordinator, apparel design and merchandising of NID, Somesh Singh, who designed the new attire for the police, said.

The new uniforms offer better functionality, protection and comfort, besides making the personnel look smarter, pleasant and fashionable, Singh said.

The uniforms are made out of cotton-blend fabric which is ideal for extreme climatic conditions in Gujarat, he added.

“Besides the functional aspects of the uniform, we have tried to make it look more presentable and pleasant. For example, the shirts for women have collars with blunt edges giving it a feminine finish,” Singh said.

“The police department had approached NID last year and asked us to design uniforms for the traffic and general police in the state.

“The new outfits have been designed after conducting extensive survey, where we interacted with cops and got to know the difficulties they faced with the present uniform and its design.

“We found that due to huge variation in body type in urban and rural police fit was a major issue, which demanded high level of customisation,” Singh said.

“The new uniform will come with fits for people of different sizes. The cotton-blend fabric combined with uber-cool finish will make provide a cooling effect in summers. Moreover, the fabric is treated using nano-technology to give protection against ultra-violet rays. Use of plasma technology increases the durability of the fabric,” he said.

The traffic police uniform, for both men and women, will have an off-white shirt and dark grey pants. While the general police will wear the same khaki colour, but with new details and seams to divide weight distribution to the entire body.

For the traffic cops photo-chromatic and thermostatic printed badges have been used to increase visibility during the night. These are complemented by reflective prints and fibre-optic technology which will glow in the dark.

Anti-bacterial finish used for the uniform gives protection against bacteria and dust in more polluted areas, especially in urban centres, Singh said.

For women in general police, they will have a choice of three different uniforms – one with simple trousers and shirt that will be tucked in, the second with trousers and shirt not tucked in and the third as saree for a more conservative look.

All uniforms come with a belt having multiple utility having space to hang hand-held items like baton, torch, chalan book, pen and wireless set among others.

Singh also said incorporation of technologies and facilities would not increase the production costs of the uniform. “At the most, the department has to shell out about Rs 80 to Rs 100 more than what they are spending on each uniform,” he said.

Singh further said they would be providing the police department with a set of measurements for different fits which can be used by tailors to stitch the uniforms.

“There will be less variation in cuts and patterns of the uniform by providing the fits,” he added.