Delhi cops' language woes

With thousands of foreign tourists expected during CWG, policemen might find themselves tongue-tied

With thousands of foreign tourists expected during CWG, policemen might find themselves tongue-tied

You just need to run your car through a red light to realise that Delhi cops are never short of a word. But things could be a bit different during the Commonwealth Games. With numerous foreign tourists and delegates slated to visit the city during the event, the cops are trying hard to reduce the communication gap that could arise because of language deficiencies.

It's not difficult to fathom the policemen's concerns. You must have encountered a situation where a foreigner approaches a cop in Delhi seeking help, but the man in khaki often has to seek help to understand the situation.
However, police officials are defending themselves saying English is spoken in all Commonwealth nations, a language that the policemen do understand.

"It's a common language and the visitors will not have any problems," said a police officer.

The cops have been taking English lessons, but the real problem is about emergency calls. If any mishap occurs with any visitor, then he will make a call on the emergency number or will report it to the local police station. And the problem starts from there. Many of the policemen manning the PCR or the desks at police stations are not very well-versed with the Queen's language.

Though the Delhi police has planned for a specific police station dedicated to foreigners but since visitors would be travelling all over the city, the solution seems a bit short-sighted.

English please!
Delhi will soon get its first police station catering specially to foreigners visiting the city for the Commonwealth Games and English-speaking cops would be posted there, officials said. The new station, which is to start by the end of this month, would come up at Paharganj in central Delhi, an area that attracts lots of foreign tourists and backpackers thanks to the budget accommodation it offers. The locality has more than 901 guest houses and hotels.