The existing police station on the bus terminus will soon get a permanent building.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Every monsoon, the policemen at Pernambut station (H1) on the main road near Vellore would be on double duty. The derelict police station, which occupies a portion of bus terminus space, would get flooded during the period. Apart from their daily routine, the policemen have to pump out rainwater from the station.
The monsoon ordeal is expected to come to an end as the station is all set to have its own building inside the spacious housing quarters for police personnel, around 500 metres from the existing station, soon.
The three-storeyed building will be built by the Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation (TNPHC). “The existing space of the police station is needed for the expansion of the bus terminus,” N.T.Velavan, commissioner, Pernambut municipality, told The Hindu.
Senior police officers said the existing police station had been functioning on a 5,000 sq.ft space for more than three decades inside the bus terminus.
The new building would be built on the space identified inside the police housing quarters because complainants can access the new facility easily due to its closeness to the existing police station.
At present, Pernambut police station covers 43 remote hamlets. It has only the law & order wing with 29 police personnel. Traffic crime wings have been functioning from Gudiyattam police station, around 20 km away. As a result, complainants have to travel to Gudiyatham on traffic and crime related cases.
As per plan, the new building will house all three sections – L&0, crime and traffic wings. It will also have a spacious waiting hall, office room, separate cabin for inspectors, records room, strong room to store arms and ammunition, lock ups and rest rooms. Separate rooms for police personnel to rest will be available. The entire premises will come under CCTV cameras with rooftop solar panels for power efficiency. It will also have a modern rainwater harvesting system.
Municipal officials said the bus terminus has only three bays for services to Ambur, Vellore, Chennai and Bengaluru. The terminus has a lone pay and use toilet. Additional space will help to expand the terminus with more bus bays, shops, water taps, washrooms, waiting hall, public announcement systems, and digital timing boards, said municipal officials. Bus services to big towns like Vaniyambadi, Arcot, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai can be operated at the terminus. Efforts to commence these two facilities are underway.
