Police to launch canteen by month-end

KOCHI: After the initial hiccup over the proposed canteen for the police of Ernakulam Range, the service is now all set to kick-start before the first week of May. The barracks in Tripunithura camp were cleared for the purpose and construction work would end by next week.According to the sources in the police, the canteen was to launch in the first week of March but suffered a set back due to pending construction work and lack of agencies to supply the goods at subsidised price. “There was a confusion regarding acquiring the goods from either CRPF or Navy. Since, the Thiruvananthapuram police canteen got its supply from CRPF, we will also get it from them,” the source said.According to a senior official, more than 2,000 policemen will get household goods at a reduced price from the canteen. “We are planning to provide the service to all the policemen in the Ernakulam Range. Cards will be issued to all the police personnel. They can avail the product only after showing these canteen cards. The prices will be less than the market price and some products will be sold at 40 per cent discount price. Liquor and high-end products like cars and bikes will not be supplied through the canteen,” an official said.The canteen has been a long demand from the policemen. As part of this, the government approved the centralised canteen in Thiruvananthapuram. Later the canteens in Kochi, Kollam and Kozhikode were approved. The canteen service in Thiruvananthapuram has turned out to be a solace for the policemen with more than 4000 members benefiting out of the service.