Highway cops limp
The highway police department tasked with curbing crimes and helping victims in road mishaps is now limping because of inadequate manpower and poor logistic support.
The department has to keep a close watch on a stretch of 11,806-kilometre highway with only 2,042 personnel posted at 24 police stations and 48 outposts across the country.
These police stations and outposts have only 76 patrol cars including jeeps, pickups and microbuses, 40 walkie-talkies and 151 motorcycles to discharge their duties throughout the country.
On an average, each highway police station or outpost has a 160-km-long stretch of road. The highway department has a total of 11,806-km road --7,641 km national and 4,165 km regional.
A highway police station or an outpost can afford only one patrol team consisted of 15 to 20 people with one patrol car to keep vigil over its designated area in three shifts.
The highway patrol is of no use to people as a patrol car, in reality, do very little to protect people on a 160-km-long road. As the lone patrol car moves from one end to the other leaving behind the entire stretch unprotected, criminals very easily swoop on their prey.
The western region of highway police in Bogra has 10 police stations and 18 outposts in its three zones-- Bogra, Kushtia and Gauranadi while eastern region in Comilla has 14 police stations and 30 outposts in four zones--Comilla, Chittagong and Sylhet.
The department came into being on June 11 of 2005 but most of its police stations and outposts are housed in abandoned sheds of highway construction workers or rented houses except for eight makeshift structures of its own -- four for police stations and eight for outposts.
Very often highway police personnel have to play a role of mere bystanders as they do have no wreckers or other logistic supports to conduct rescue operations after road mishaps. They even cannot cope with highway robbers as they use faster means of transport.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sohrab Hossain, chief of the highway police, said dual administration often causes dilemma in discharging duties on the highway, widening the scope for law enforcers to indulge in irregularities.
Hossain said traffic police and thana police, in the name of checking vehicles, are often involved in immoral and unethical practices that ultimately malign the reputation of highway police.
After road accidents, the police stations concerned record the cases but very often wreckages and bodies are left on the spots for a long time, he said, adding: “It happens as it is not yet determined which wing of the police will handle the matter.”
Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Shah Golam Mahmud of the highway police said they will receive Tk 5 crore for buying five wreckers in the current fiscal year -- three for eastern region and two for western region and some double-cabin pickups.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved Tk 20 crore for the infrastructural development of the highway police department, the AIG added.
With the amount 11 highway police stations in eastern region, eight in western region and 31 outposts will be set up, he said.
When asked, DIG Hossain said they are trying to develop infrastructures and go for buying logistics in the first phase and then they will try to increase manpower.
The highway police sources said, with the poor logistic support and inadequate manpower they can hardly discharge their duties.
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