KMC to ask Kolkata police to train city’s green force

At a time when nearly 12,000 posts are lying vacant in the Kolkata police, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation...

At a time when nearly 12,000 posts are lying vacant in the Kolkata police, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) plans to ask the force to provide training to the city’s civic or Green Police so that they can participate in the rescue operations during terror attacks or blasts.

The civic police force, set up in August, was formed to deal with environmental and civic offences such as illegal felling of trees and violation of traffic rules. A joint venture of the Kolkata police and KMC, Green Police was initially formed by recruiting 500 youths. Initially, KMC has spent Rs 20 lakh for their salaries. At present, the city has 993 civic police volunteers on the payroll of the KMC.

Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said: “This force is an added strength to the city as no other metropolitan has conceptualised such an idea. They have been trained to work as volunteers and can be deployed during any terror attack or blast to help the Kolkata police.”

Story continues below this ad

With the Kolkata police under pressure following the recent terror attacks and severely handicapped by an inadequate force, the civic authorities are mulling over whether to make the proposal to use this force during a terror strike, said a police officer.

Commissioner of Police Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti said: “We are trying to deal with the staff crunch by recruiting people. But the process will take time. Till then, we have to manage despite the crunch.”

He added: “As far as the civic police force is concerned, they have never been trained in disaster management. We have to train them to do ground work and help the police in tackling a crisis situation.”

Only 9 tickets to EBCs is in stark contrast to the INDIA bloc and Congress’s EBC push with the Atipichhda Nyay Sankalp, a separate resolution for EBCs that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav released last month. (PTI Photo)

As Mahagathbandhan stalemate continues in Bihar, a look at the Congress line-up till now

Political Pulse1 hr ago

Congress manages to take three seats from allies in Bihar, including Biharsharif in Nalanda district, Kumhrar in Patna, and Bachhwara in Begusarai district. Congress fields 49 candidates, looking to contest 60-61 seats while RJD wants to give only 54-55. Seat-sharing talks stuck as Congress wants more "winnable seats" and RJD has not officially released its list.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS