Two 10x8 feet rooms with corrugated tin sheds overhead are all that the Makarpura police station comprises. Some of the records have been damaged by termites; a two-month-old demand for an almirah has had no response.

The Tarsali police station is half the Makarpura PS size -- one 10x8 feet room -- and doesn't have an authorised power connection.

The Navapura PS is so cramped, the staff have to sit out in the balcony.

Considering that the expectations of the police force is sky-high, the infrastructure provided to constables and junior police officials certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

The list of police stations and outposts with dilapidated buildings and accommodation problems -- for both man and material -- is endless. The Athlajra outpost -- a rented outhouse of a private building -- has neither a phone connection nor any supply of drinking water. It does have 22 staff members, though, with the result that some of them have to camp on the pavement.

The J P Road police station has 45 km and a population of 4.5 lakhs under its charge and two rooms with corrugated cement sheets to call home. It leaks, there is not enough space for either personnel or furniture, and the roof is so low, it can well be mistaken for a cattle shed.

Though it has three vehicles, a jeep, a mobile van and a motorcycle to its name, the infrastructure is inadequate, to say the least, for its jurisdiction.

Its probably better off, however, in comparison to the Gotri outpost, a single 10x10 cement room built on encroached land and not fitted out with even a telephone. The Jetalpur outpost is also without a telephone or drinking water supply.

Actually, the Gotri or Jetalpur outposts aren't the only ones not to have telephones. They have company in the four outposts under the Panigate PS, two each under the Makarpura, Navapura and J P Road PSs, and one each under City, Sayajigunj, Gorva and Jawaharnagar PSs. The Ellora Park outpost doesn't even have a pager, which service was introduced recently for public convenience.

The police stations' list of woes doesn't end there. CrPC 173 forms, chargesheets and case diary forms are unavailable in the 13 police stations and complainants are asked to photocopy the forms from the few that remain for their needs, according to police station officers.

Substandard and poorly stitched uniforms, tat-patari raincoats and a paltry Rs 75 conveyance allowance are among the woes of the lower-level staff.

None of the outposts on the city outskirts have jeeps; there are a grand total of 130 wireless sets. Less than one-third of the police personnel have government accommodation, though there are only 2500 of them against the sanctioned 4350. Asked about the pitiable conditions of police stations and outposts, DCP (Administration) Meera Ramnivas said a proposal for new buildings for seven police stations -- Karelibaug, Chhani, Sayajigunj, Panigate, Navapura, J P Road and Jawaharnagar -- had been sent to the State Government in February 1998 but had not had a response so far.