Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar gets approval

Bhubaneswar, Aug 7: Bhubaneswar is all set to get a new police station at Bharatpur after State government gave its nod for bifurcation of six police stations including Khandagiri. As per the proposal the new police station at Bharatpur will include areas of Shampur, Kalinga Nagar and Kalinga Studio Square. The necessity of another police station has emerged due to rapid development in the area. The Khandagiri police station which was set up in 1983 for around 20000 people has currently catering to a staggering population of 3.5 lakh. Similarly the existing police station has a jurisdiction of 70 Square Kilometers. The number of cases registered under the police station has also increased significantly in last few years. As per statistics as many as 420 cases were registered with the police station in 2007, the number went up to 621 in 2018. Police officials said that 40 percent of registered crime cases of Khandagiri police station occur in the areas of the proposed Bharatpur police station. While the area has witnessed frequent crimes of snatching and robbery, the National Highway passing through the area has also become vulnerable for highway robbery and incidents of road rages. Local residents also allege lack of regular patrolling in the area and have staged demonstration infront of the police station several times in recent past.