Udupi: To meet the growing demand for police vehicles in Udupi, the local MLA and private companies joined hands to provide jeeps through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, offering much-needed support to the police department.SP Hariram Shankar said that 12 vehicles were committed so far by elected representatives and private contributors. Of these, five vehicles were already received, while the remaining seven were expected to be delivered within the next one to two weeks.He explained that a similar initiative was earlier implemented in Karwar. “Vehicles are normally issued by the department, but there are occasions when there is a delay. Many police vehicles were retired after completing 15 years of service, creating an acute shortage,” the SP said.During this stop-gap period, often extending up to six months, the department was forced to look for alternative arrangements. Although the police headquarters procured around 140 vehicles, these were distributed in phases. “With prior permission from the department, we decided to bridge the gap through CSR-funded vehicles,” he added.Several police stations are currently facing urgent shortages. For instance, Kota police station and Kundapura traffic police were left without vehicles after their old ones were retired. Two more vehicles were taken off the road by the end of Dec. “When basic mobility is affected, policing becomes extremely difficult,” the SP said, noting that the plan to source vehicles through CSR was initiated four months ago.The initiative received strong support from MLAs Kiran Kumar Kodgi, Yashpal Suvarna, Sunil Kumar and Gurme Suresh Shetty. In addition, Udupi-Chikmagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary facilitated a vehicle through Konkan Railway, apart from contributions from local industries such as Bolas Agro Private Limited and Sagar Ratna- Ocean Pearl Group.Despite these efforts, the district still faces a shortfall. “Even after the new vehicles are inducted, we will be short by around 15% of the total requirement,” the SP said.
