City cops face housing crisis

A policeman stands guard at the entrance to Hazaribagh Police Station set up on a rented house. The narrow dingy alley also leads to an entrance to the station. Photo: Shawkat Jamil

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) can provide quarters to only 617 police families against the demand for 16,652, leaving them in a serious housing crisis.
The DMP is also facing problems in housing police stations, outposts and police boxes. Some of the new police stations have been set up in rented houses with inadequate space.
Deputy Commissioner (DC Estate and Development) of DMP Mohammad Shajahan told The Daily Star that a total of 16,652 policemen including fourth-class employees of the force are supposed to enjoy quarters facilities.
The DMP has only 617 quarters in DMP area, which covers only 3.70 percent of the total number it needs, he added.
Most of the police stations are in rented houses and the DMP has to count around Tk 1 crore annually in rent, DMP sources said.
Of the total 35 police stations in DMP 10 are located in rented houses and 12 in vested properties while only 13 are in its own lands.
DMP on June 9, 2008 decided to establish eight police stations but it could complete only 2, Kadamtali and Darussalam police stations, raising the total number to only 35.
The rest six police stations -- Ramna, Kalabagan, Gendaria, Chawkbazar, Bangshal and Sher-e-Bangla Nagar -- could not be set up due to lack of suitable houses, they added.
Usually house owners are reluctant to rent out their houses to be used as police stations and again it is very tough to find houses with adequate number of rooms, which will serve well as police stations, they said.
The DMP houses 14 out of 52 police outposts and seven out of 69 police boxes on its own lands while the rest are located at rented houses or in vested properties.
During a visit to Hazaribagh Police Station, which is a rented house, the station was found to have only twelve tiny rooms, most of which are of around 120 square feet in size.
The police station sources said 37 police personnel are to huddle together in two rooms on the first floor where they pass sleepless nights.
Policemen posted at the station said they even struggle to handle victims due to lack of accommodation.
During the visit this correspondent found four motorbikes lying in the conference rooms taking up space of almost the entire room.
Police members said they kept the bikes in the room due to absence of a compound hampering regular activities that are supposed to be done in the room.
Seeking anonymity a female police sub-inspector told The Daily Star “I receive around Tk 3500 as house rent while I have to spend over Tk 4500 on rent for a small house at Mirpur and over Tk 1500 on conveyance to reach my office.”
If I had a government quarters I could save Tk 2500 per month, which I could spend on my children's education, and I could spend at least three more hours with my family,” she lamented.
The authorities concerned have undertaken a five-year housing plan (2008-2013) to ease the housing problem, which will raise the total number of quarters to only 1727, a very meagre 10.37 percent, DC Shajahan said.
Under the five-year housing plan 1,110 more quarters will be built by 2013 for those from the rank of assistant sub-inspector onwards.
Accommodation capacity, as per the plan, in barracks of DMP will be increased to 10752 from the existing 9252, Shajahan said.