Abandoned rusted vehicles in and around the compound of a police station in Kerala is ubiquitous. The abandoned vehicles made headlines earlier too. In fact, many stations in Kerala have turned into a junkyard. Ranging from two-wheelers to heavy vehicles, these confiscated vehicles remain there for years. Although the police department can auction them, they will first have to go through a lot of legal procedures, so they don’t. Moreover, not too many people want to buy these vehicles. According to a 2019 report, more than 40,000 vehicles are rusting at police stations in the state. Quite interestingly, Thrissur district’s Cheruthuruthy police found a great way to use the abandoned cars. They have started growing organic vegetables in some of them.
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Police Officers Started Cultivation Of Vegetables
Vexed with the vehicles, the police officers takes care of the cultivation of the vehicles. They apparently had a few mini lorries that they had caught for sand and soil smuggling. Three months ago, they decided to cultivate vegetables in them, and it was a successful attempt. They only got their first harvest last week. With the successful cultivation, the police officers plan to do it on other vehicles too. They planted ladies finger, long beans and spinach in the first phase. Now they want to grow different vegetables too. Meet Praveen Kottavathil, The Expat Who Manages Produce From His Own Garden
Many Vehicles In Other Police Stations Are Still Rusting
However, in many other police stations, the officers do not have any clue about what to do with the rusting vehicles in the compound. There are many reasons why these vehicles sit and rust. First, the owners will never want to claim the vehicle if it is seized for illegal activity. Many times, the accident vehicles too, are not taken back by the owners. In other cases, it takes many years to get a verdict and the vehicle’s rust and become useless by then. Vehicles To Be Refueled Only If People Wear Masks In Bangalore.
While earlier a Directed General of police had directed all SHOs to clear the confiscated vehicles but that did not happen effectively. In Kasaragod’s Chattanchal, there was a protest by local residents that the area where these seized vehicles are kept was being used for illegal activities by miscreants. People can easily hide in this large area of land where these vehicles are dumped and use it to consume alcohol and drugs.