Hyderabad: 35 years after its last reorganisation, the Hyderabad City Police is set to redraw its boundaries as the population of the city continues to rise amid rapid urbanisation.
Hyderabad police, which comprised five zones in the past, will now contain seven zones. Two new zones have been added, namely the South East and South West zones. The total number of divisions is taken to 28 from 17 and the city will now have 71 police stations, making it a jump of 11 stations from 2002.
“A high level committee of police officers having three decades of experience was formed to study and finalize the plan. For about six months the officers visited various areas and then finalized the new police stations and reorganization of the jurisdiction of the old police stations,” city commissioner CV Anand said.
According to the city police, the increase in the city’s population has necessitated the reorganisation. During the period from 2011 to 2021, Hyderabad’s population rose nearly 18 percent to around 80 lakhs. The last time the city police was reorganised in 1987, the city’s population was around 25 lakhs.
The Hyderabad police was also subject to a semi-reorganisation in 2002, during which the number of police stations was not changed. The two new zones will be headed by a District Commissioner.
Aside from that, 11 new ACP divisions and 11 new law and order stations will also come into being, according to a report released detailing the reorganisation.
In a marked push for women’s safety, the Hyderabad police also announced five new women police stations, one each in the Central, East, West, South East, and South West zones. With this, all the zones in Hyderabad will have one women police station each.
The Hyderabad police’s traffic wing will also be reorganised with 13 new traffic police stations added to cater to the rising vehicle population in the city which is now over 80 lakhs, a 13 percent jump from 2020.
