Ludhiana, August 26, 2016: With an aim to modernise our police force and to increase their operational capability for combating crime in urban areas of the state, Deputy CM Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal today launched the second phase of this plan from Ludhiana. Under this plan, the state government had sanctioned funds amounting to Rs 10 crore for the purchase of 150 Maruti Ertiga vehicles. Today, a total of 70 Maruti Ertiga vehicles were launched.
Out of these vehicles, Police Commissionerate Ludhiana got 50 Maruti Ertiga vehicles, Police Commissionerates of Amritsar and Jalandhar got 30 each, SSP SAS Nagar 28 and SSP Bathinda got 12 vehicles for city patrolling. These vehicles have been deputed with the PCR units.
In the first phase, the Punjab government had sanctioned funds amounting to Rs 15 crore for the purchase of 220 Mahindra Bolero vehicles and 400 Honda Unicorn Motorcycles for intensive patrolling in Rural areas of the state under the banner of Rapid Rural Response Scheme (RRPRS) and under this scheme, police assistance is made available to the remotest rural areas in less than 20 minutes. This scheme was launched from Jalandhar by Deputy CM Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal on July 1, 2016.
The Maruti Ertiga is a new age multi utility vehicle which is adequately geared to meet the present day operational challenges confronting the Punjab Police, especially in urban areas of the state. This vehicle is ideally suited to serve as chase vehicle and to match the high speed vehicles used by the modern day criminals/gangsters. These vehicles have been further modified by replacing the rear seats with a stretcher and a seat for attendant to fulfill the dual requirement of facilitating speedy evacuation of injured persons and also to provide first aid.