Yari Police Station operating from leaky house

By Our Correspondent, Humla, Sept 4: Yari Police Station in the Humla district has no building of its own but oversees security within the village and nearby areas. The jurisdiction of the station reaches up to the border with China in the north.

In recent days, the police station has been operating from a one-story rented house constructed from mud. 

“As soon as it rains, water starts dripping from the mud roof. When it happens, which is often, every officer is forced to stay awake all night or to enter into a sleeping bag,” said Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tej Bahadur Airi, in charge of Yari Police Station.

While staying awake, officers try to stop the dripping by covering the pores with mud. There are a total of 12 officers under the command of ASI Airi.

In the morning after a rainy night, the officers begin the day by hanging their wet clothes out in the sun. 

“We can’t stop doing our work because we have no good building. We will continue doing our best with the resources we have. However, a good building can motivate the officers more,” said ASI Airi.

Moreover, the major trouble faced by the officers is to prevent documents and files from getting wet, since all the rooms in the rented house have the problem of leaking roofs. 

Humla’s Chief District Officer (CDO) Sita Pariyar, who is on a trip to visit police stations on the northern border with China, has seen the problem firsthand. “Police officers are for the security of the public, but here they are struggling even to have a proper working space. For preliminary support, tarpaulin will be provided and we will inform higher authorities about the condition,” said CDO Pariyar.

Many police stations across the district have no building of their own.