Vadodara: Many would be wary of travelling on the Ahmadabad-Indore national highway through the interior areas of Dahod late in the night unless they were being led or followed by other vehicles. But that could soon become a thing of past with the Dahod police ensuring its strong presence along the highway through Police Sahayta Kendras (PSK) every few kilometers. The 60 km stretch between Bathwada towards Godhra and Khangla on the Gujarat-Madhya Pradesh border had become notorious for highway robberies. In October too, a couple of incidents of highway robberies were reported on the stretch. In wake of the situation, the police decided to ensure its permanent presence along the highway not just to take care of the robberies, but also to help commuters as there are few facilities along the highway in the night. Nine PSKs have been set up at strategic locations along the stretch. Each centres has six personnel including two policemen, two Gram Rakshak Dal (GRD) jawans and two home guards. Both the policemen at the posts are armed. While the presence of police has acted as a deterrent against robberies, their mandate also includes helping commuters in any other situation. The PSKs have facilities to repair punctures, first aid kits and can even arrange to drop commuters at a safe location if their vehicles break down. The facility has been started in right earnest since about a month now. Dahod Superintendent of Police Mr.Hitesh Joysar said so far around 50 commuters have already taken assistance at the aid centres for various reasons, but there has been no incident of robbery after they became fully operational. The helpline number 8780390397 is also displayed along the highway. Mr. Joysar added that their insistence was that if motorists had to stop for some reason, they should do so at the nearest PSK. He said we have mentioned the distance of the nearest centres along the highway. People can reach there and seek assistance. The police have also beefed up patrolling along the highway. Joysar said we requisite civilian vehicles too and ensure that at least 10 vehicles are patrolling the stretch in the night. Mr. Vaibhav Zalavadia Citizen Reporter(Police News Plus)