Mumbai Police are on alert round the clock. They are always ready to lend a helping hand to citizens in need. A heart-warming gesture is the help they extend to thousands of US visa seekers. The Bandra-Kurla Complex Police converted one of their patrol vans posted outside the United States Consulate into a cloakroom. All visitors and applicants can now deposit their cellphones, laptops, and other belongings at this unofficial cloakroom. The cloakroom service was the brainchild of Police Commissioner of Mumbai – Sanjay Barve. He came up with the idea while taking feedback from cops patrolling the Consulate area. An officer said Barve came up with the plan when he saw bags lying unattended outside the Consulate, which had led to two bomb scares earlier this year.
Earlier, US visa applicants had to shell out hundreds of rupees to deposit their valuables, but now they only need to pay just Rs 10. The patrol van is equipped with 107 lockers for the 1,000 odd people that visit the Consulate daily. The cloakroom service can be availed from 6 am to 2 pm daily. Should someone need to collect their belongings beyond these hours, they are instructed to go to the BKC Police Station to collect them.
“Visitors have to pay Rs 10 and register their phone number to get a token and a payment receipt. We have employed two people to keep watch on the visitors’ belongings. The amount collected is deposited in the Police Welfare Fund,” said a police officer attached to BKC Police Station.
Speaking about the practice that prevailed before this facility was made available to visitors, a police officer said, “Being a highly sensitive and high security area, the US Consulate does not permit certain items inside their compound. People had no choice but to leave their valuable belongings on the pavement before entering the Consulate. Some of them would even pay their auto-rickshaw drivers anywhere between Rs 400 to Rs 1,000 to keep their belongings safe until the time they exited the building.”
Speaking about the new cloakroom arranged by the Police, a security official at the Consulate said the service has proven really helpful. It has proven especially beneficial for visa applicants coming from outside the State.
He added that though the US Consulate website has given specific details regarding items banned inside the premises, people still tend to carry important gadgets such as their mobile phones and laptops along with their visa documents. Now, since the Consulate premises do not have any provision to store banned items, visitors usually leave them at the gate, placing their trust on absolute strangers to keep vigil, or come back another day without the banned items.
What is a Cloakroom?
A cloakroom, or sometimes coat room, is a room for people to hang their coats, cloaks or other outerwear when they enter a building. Cloakrooms are typically found inside large buildings, such as gymnasiums, schools, churches or meeting halls. In smaller buildings, people may hang their own coats, but in large buildings or complexes, coat check attendants may take the coats. In some venues, such as nightclubs, using the cloakroom’s coat check service is mandatory.
