Hero Image

Police stations to soon get toilets for women cops

Coimbatore: Inspector general of police (west zone) K Periaiah has instructed all the police stations in eight districts to create waiting halls and toilet facilities exclusively for women police personnel working in the stations.

The IGP issued the instruction following complaints from women police that most of the police stations in the district do not have exclusive toilets and waiting halls for women police.



A woman police officer said, “Women and men cops are forced to use same toilets in police stations, which is not comfortable for both. So, we requested the officials to provide exclusive toilet facility for women cops.”

Women cops have also raised concern about leaves being denied by officials.

A woman police officer said, “Whenever we apply for at least 15 days of leave once in a year, officials would grant leave only for 10 days.”

“If we apply for medical leave for a month, officials refuse to sanction the leave,” she added.

Periaiah told TOI that SPs of eight districts (Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Nilgiris, Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri) were instructed to create waiting halls and toilet facilities exclusively for women cops in each police station.

To overcome stress, the state government’s ‘Wellbeing Programme’ for police is also being effectively implemented in the western districts.

Two inspectors of police and six sub-inspectors of police from Coimbatore rural police were given training at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bengaluru. The first programme was conducted in Coimbatore district on November 30, 2018.

Sujit Kumar, superintendent of police, Coimbatore district, said this programme would give cops an opportunity to burst their work stress.

Barkath Nisha, a counsellor in the programme, said, “We are giving counseling to police personnel and their family members on how to ease tensions and burst stress. A few police personnel who were separated from their partners reunited after attending the Wellbeing Programme.”

READ ON APP