Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil has inaugurated a new refurbished police kitchen. The centralized police kitchen at Naigaon police headquarters in its new avatar is an ultra-modern all-steel kitchen with chimneys, a large refrigerator, steel work tables, flour mill, geyser, food warmer, juicer, mixer, grinder and other ultra modern fittings.

The food prepared here, on the basis of consultations with various food experts, will not add to the risk factors to policemen’s health. “The challenge for us will be to to break their food habits due to the taste factor and this will take a long time. The aim here is to attract them with good ambience and facility, and provide them with hygienic, tasty, nutritious and subsidised food,” said Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanadhan.

Inaugurating the kitchen Tuesday evening, Patil said, “Food refreshment allowance given to the police personnel is meager and for that reason the need to provide them a good cafeteria was very high. Along with the Mumbai police officers and policemen, the cafeteria will also deliver food to personnel of SRPF and Traffic Police at their place of work.”

“My idea is to raise the standard of policemen’s living so that their approach to society develops with the facilities we provide them. We will teach them to consume less oil and provide them will healthy food. Like the Dabbawallas in Mumbai our own policemen will deliver the food through the police welfare vehicles, especially during festivals like Ganpati, Durga Puja or Navaratri, wherever they are working, this will be very beneficial. In their 12-hour duty, I have told policemen to compulsorily include one hour of workout,” Sivanandhan said.

The police commissioner added that as part of police welfare measures, now policemen are being provided with 560 square feet houses with attached toilets as against 180 square feet earlier.

Vithal Kamat, executive chairman and managing director of Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd that is the consultant to the kitchen, said: “The cafeteria has been revamped taking into account three crucial factors - hygiene, number of food items, and providing necessary nutrients for energy throughout the day. Twenty-one dishes will be served through the day.” Many more such kitchens are being planned, he added.