Once a dilapidated canteen with barely any sitting arrangement, the cafe, situated inside the police lines, now boasts of bright pink exteriors, an entrance paved with locally-sourced marble and stones, and exterior and interior seating of over 40.
A Saharanpur cafe tries to bring down ‘perception wall’ between people, police
Walk into Bailout Cafe in Saharanpur and words like “corrupt”, “scary” and “rude” pop out at you from a stone wall. This unusual decor choice stems from a survey where people were asked to describe, in one word, the police — the ones running this establishment.
The cafe and this ‘wall of perception’, says an officer, is an attempt to bring residents and the police closer in an informal setting.
“The idea of a cafe was sanctioned by the SSP and we began working on it in December. It was quite an uphill task since all of it had to be managed while the police duties continued. Even elections took place in between. But we wanted to create a unique space for everyone,” said Preeti Yadav, CO City 1, who designed the cafe.
Once a dilapidated canteen with barely any sitting arrangement, the cafe, situated inside the police lines, now boasts of bright pink exteriors, an entrance paved with locally-sourced marble and stones, and exterior and interior seating of over 40.
The decor uses recycled material — a fountain made with bottles as conduits and bulbs fitted inside cheese graters doubling up as lamps.
Two boards on the entrance list out instructions. One of them is that the cafe does not provide wifi in order to encourage interactions and conversations between people and police.
“Most of the materials have been sourced from the local market. For instance we made messages on wood boards that are leftovers in furniture manufacturing,” said Yadav, a third-generation police personnel from her family.
The proceeds from the cafe will go to the department’s coffers.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/a-saharanpur-cafe-tries-to-bring-down-perception-wall-between-people-police-7873831/