The state police headquarters formally got a new address after a gap of over a century on Friday with chief minister Nitish Kumar inaugurating the newly built building near Golf Club off Bailey Road with state-of-the-art facilities, many of which are firsts for Bihar.

The building, spread over around 53,000 square metres and built at a cost of Rs.320 crore, is being billed as the strongest structure in the state capable of withstanding an earthquake measuring more than eight on the Richter scale.

It is also the first building in Bihar that can remain functional without external power supply for 12 days, thanks to the internal generator capable of providing electricity to the entire building.

The building, named Sardar Patel Bhawan after India’s first home minister Vallabhbhai Patel, has a helipad on the roof that will help the government machinery in emergency situations.

The new police headquarters will accommodate the offices of all wings of the police and the disaster management authority.

“As the new building houses the offices of all wings of police and disaster management, it will be easier for the government machinery to work during any exigency,” Nitish pointed out at the inauguration.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar inaugurates the police headquarters on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

The seven-storey new police headquarters has solar power panels to conserve energy during the day, especially during the summer season when the sun is at its strongest.

There are CCTV cameras at each corner and electronic security doors on all sides. Hence, no one can enter the building without the issued electronic cards.

“All security aspects have been taken into account,” said a senior IPS officer.

Instruments have been installed to mark the attendance of employees through a biometric system.

The complex also includes a small water treatment plant to carry out research on sewage treatment.

The forensic science laboratory, which functions under the criminal investigation department, is also located on the sprawling campus.

There are five blocks with facilities such as a transit hostel, a dormitory, a convention hall, an auditorium with seating capacity of 475 people, and a badminton court.

The campus has the facility to park around 300 four-wheelers.

The building has two underground water tanks of 3.5 lakh litres each for fire-fighting exigencies.

There is an emergency control centre, which will monitor the operation during any emergency from the headquarters.

The offices of different wings of the police will be shifted to the new building at the earliest. The chief minister also asked director-general of police K.S. Dwivedi to shift the offices to the new campus as soon as possible.