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Quake aftermath: Police stations flattened, personnel in tents

By Ghafar Ali

BATTAGRAM: Police stations in Battagram district suffered heavy losses in the October 8 earthquake. Police stations, residential quarters and barracks were all completely destroyed leaving policemen to live in tents. Police officers also suffered casualties and many lost their relatives in the earthquake.

“All six police stations in the district were completely destroyed, killing a station house officer (SHO) in Shamlai Police Station and injuring 30 others including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and a woman police officer,” Nisar Tanoli, the district police officer (DPO) told Daily Times.

He said majority of the 327 policemen in the district were local and many of them lost their family members and homes.

Tanoli said in the first two days after the earthquake, only 40 police officers were on duty as the rest had been busy in burying their relatives and removing debris.

He said due to the shortage of staff, the police had difficulty in providing security for the visiting ministers and foreign dignitaries.

“However, the absentee police officers soon came back and we were also reinforced by 11-platoons of the Frontier Constabulary, 3-platoons of the Frontier Reserve Police (FRP) and 180 trainees from the Police Training College in Hangu,” he said. Our police officers performed duty with determination and devotion and should be commended for their efforts, he said.

Tanoli said accommodation was a big problem as police constables were forced to live in tents in the cold and it was difficult for them to sleep. He said due to sleep disorder many police officers were depressed. He said providing tents to policemen, the FC, the FRP and other security personnel was a huge problem. He said the Central Police Office (CPO) provided 80 tents and donor agencies and private organisations also donated tents but these were insufficient and did not meet their requirement.

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