Mobile sanitation vehicle for police personnel launched in Bengaluru

In a bid to improve the working conditions of the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) personnel, the Home Department on Friday launched ‘Hygiene on Go’, a first-of-its-kind mobile sanitation vehicle exclusively for the Bengaluru City Police.

Home Minister G. Parameshwara flagged off the vehicles along with senior IPS officers. The initiative aims to provide accessible, safe, and hygienic sanitation facilities for traffic police personnel stationed across the city’s busiest corridors.

The Home Department has procured and modified three vehicles under the initiative at a cost of ₹2.06 crore, which will operate for 27 months until March 2028. The vehicles will run from 8.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. along three major traffic-heavy routes- Thanisandra, Adugodi, and Mysuru Road, covering 91 designated halting points to ensure timely and reliable access for personnel on duty.

The vehicles will feature separate washrooms for male and female police officers. They will also have exterior CCTV coverage, GPS tracking, and an LED display carrying road safety messages.

Police said that limited access to safe and adequate sanitation facilities during duty hours results in health issues, dehydration, urinary infections, and discomfort, which the initiative addresses. A senior male officer said that the mobile sanitation arrangement is very beneficial, especially for women, because washrooms are much more easily accessible for men than for women.

A woman traffic police inspector welcomed the move and noted that the vehicles would be helpful during peak hours when washrooms were very far from the locations where the police officers were deployed.

“We have a new system of e-attendance in which we have to clock in when we start duty at our deputed location. When we move beyond 100 metres from the deputed location, the system records the movement, and higher officers often scold us when we are gone for a few minutes. So, whenever the toilets are far, field personnel, especially women, face issues and also get scolded. These mobile sanitation vehicles will be very useful during such times,” she said.

Another traffic policewoman noted that the presence of sanitary pad disposal and other facilities would help women personnel greatly during menstruation period.