Nepal

Police personnel live in tents, service delivery hampered due to lack of office building

By Prakash Singh

The tent erected to house the police personnel due to the lack of housing facilities, in Budhinanda Municipality, Bajura. Photo: Prakash Singh/ THT

BAJURA, JUNE 18

The Area Police Office in Budhinanda Municipality, Bajura, is facing difficulties in service delivery due to the lack of a proper building. Meanwhile some police personnel are compelled to live in tents.

Due to the absence of its own building, the Area Police Office in Budhinanda operates from an old, dilapidated structure at Kolti Airport. The office, led by an inspector, has 35 police personnel.

However, due to the lack of residential facilities, some police personnel live in tents while others rent accommodations in the market, according to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dilip Kumar Giri of the District Police Office, Bajura.

Additionally, three female personnel deployed in the APO have also been forced to rent their own accommodation in town due to the lack of women's barracks. Meanwhile, the officer in charge also has to live in quarters within the airport building.

The absence of the office's own building has created significant challenges in detaining suspects and managing other regular office operations, according to Inspector Keshav Khadka of the Area Police Office, Budhinanda. The detainees are held for a day in the office before being transferred to the district headquarters in Martadi.

He noted that operating out of borrowed buildings has made service delivery very problematic.

The Budhinanda Area Police Office is responsible for the security of four municipalities in Bajura, covering a population of over 53,000.

Due to its geographically remote location and large area, there is a need to deploy additional police personnel, but due to the lack of housing facilities, there have been challenges in deploying additional personnel in the area, DSP Giri highlighted.

The area is far from the district headquarters, Martadi.

The District Police Office, Bajura, stated that they have been unable to construct a building due to insufficient land. There are only about 2 ropanis of land near the airport, which is inadequate. At least 5 ropanis are required for a building.

Furthermore, the office has not been able to secure a budget for construction due to the lack of land. Despite coordinating with the local government, they have been unable to procure land. This land issue previously led to the withdrawal of the Nepali Army barracks from Budhinanda Municipality.