Khanpur: Punjab government on Sunday launched the Night Policing Scheme (NPS) with 4,000 police personnel and an independent cadre and command structure.
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the state's Home minister, flagged-off a contingent of night patrolling vehicles and inaugurated the Highway Patrol Centre and Khanpur 'T' point here.
Coverage of NPS would extend to all entry and exit points, vulnerable points, sensitive institutions and outlying residential colonies of all cities and major towns, he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said prevention and control of street crime which directly affects citizens, especially women and senior citizens, was a major challenge in the recent past.
Explaining key objectives of NPS, Badal expressed confidence that it would give a fillip to night commerce and trade, provide a security umbrella to restaurants, roadside eateries, street-hawkers, industrial labourers and other night shift workers such as doctors, nurses, call-centre employees, toll-barrier and excise barrier employees and others.
Stressing that a proper supervisory structure was also being put in place to ensure proper supervision and control over the police deployment under NPS, he said, operation of NPS would be monitored directly by senior police officers on a daily basis.
About 1,014 police vehicles, both four-wheelers and motorcycles carrying around 2,500 police personnel would patrol the cities, towns, outlying colonies, vulnerable points and highways during night hours, Badal said adding, present deployment of Police Control Room (PCR) vehicles and manpower would be dovetailed with NPS to achieve best results.
He further said, seven Highway Patrol Centres (HPC) were also being set-up at inter-state boundaries and accident-prone points.
