Aruvikkara police station to be ready by Monday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Aruvikkara, a major tourist spot on the outskirts of the capital city, is all set to get a new police station. The authorities have taken almost all necessary steps for establishing the facility. The station is expected to be operational by the end of this month.Presently, the file pertaining to the creation of posts at the new station is under the consideration of the Finance Department. The plan is for a police station with a strength of 25 police personnel, including a Sub Inspector.The station was earlier scheduled to be inaugurated in the first week of September, coinciding with the Onam celebrations organised at Aruvikkara. But it was put off following procedural delays. The move to establish a police station at Aruvikkara is proceeding at a swift pace thanks to the special interest shown by Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan, who is also the elected representative from Kattakada constituency, under which Aruvikkara falls.Earlier, the former UDF government had given sanction for a police station at Aruvikkara. But the LDF government that followed revoked the sanction. However, the move to establish the station there sprang to life once again after the UDF came to power this time.According to Mohammed Shafi, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Nedumangad, it was high time that Aruvikkara got a police station of its own. Even though the jurisdiction of the place is shared by the police stations at Kattakkada and Nedumangad, the distance from both these stations to Aruvikkara had been a major impediment in attending to the emergency situations that arose there."Besides being a major tourist spot, the place holds significance for the presence of the Aruvikkara dam, from where drinking water is supplied to almost all parts of the capital city. The place is also notorious for its rampant criminal activities. Many criminals find the place to be a safe hideout as it is located far away from the nearest police stations,’’ the DySP said.He said that the new police station would also help to put a check on the water mafia that exists in the area that smuggles water from the dam.