More than a decade-old defunct recreational centre on the premises of the office of DIG (Vellore), near the Circuit House in Vellore Old Town, was given a facelift with facilities, including a public library and a gymnasium. Spread over 800 square feet, the renovated facility has a library with books, mainly in Tamil and English, of fiction and non-fiction, novels, poems and self-help, competitive examinations and general knowledge. It also has newspapers and magazines.
The modern gym has advanced equipment, including barbell stand, cable crossover, dumbbells, decline bench and flat bench press for fitness enthusiasts, especially police officers and their families residing in the housing quarters within the premises.
“The renovated facility will function round-the-clock as some policemen will be on duty. They can also spend their time in the facility. More facilities for children will also be created in the new centre,” said S. Rajesh Kannan, SP, Vellore, after opening the facility.
‘Initially a hostel’
Originally, the centre was a hostel for police trainees, mainly in the rank of sub-inspector, in the Mangalore-roofed building, built in 1930 for British officers. They were trained at the Police Training School inside the Vellore Fort before they returned to the building inside the DIG (Vellore) office, which became their hostel.
With the growth of the town and the increase in the strength of the police personnel, more space was needed to accommodate new offices. As a result, trainees were now accommodated in the Police Training School in Vellore Fort, with the erstwhile hostel building being used as ASP (Vellore) office. More than a decade ago in 2008, one of the arch-pillared rooms was converted into a small library with a play area for children, mainly for policemen on-duty and their families. Due to poor upkeep, the facility remained unused after a few years.
It was due to the efforts of the then ASP (Vellore), Albert John, currently the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DC), Traffic (North Chennai), that led to the makeover of the recreational centre. The outer walls of the renovated facility were painted by children, who were selected on the basis of a painting competition held during Independence Day celebrations last year.
