Shimla : This summer, men in blue will guard the hills of Himachal Pradesh. There will be women in blue too. They are not members of the Indian cricket team but of the 17,000-strong Himachal Pradesh police force, which is all set to shed its khaki uniform for blue.

"We have decided to shed the traditional khaki uniform and opt for the new blue uniform for the police force from this summer. It is, of course, in vogue throughout the world," Director General of Police G.S. Gill told the media.

"The aim is to give a unique identity to the cops, right from a constable to an inspector. Since the hill state is a pollution-free state, the blue attire will symbolise raw nature. Moreover, the dress will not only give the police personnel a smart look but also help shed their rough and brutal image," he said.

The new uniform is dark blue trousers, light blue shirt and blue beret. Accessories such as shoes and belts will remain black. Both policemen and women will wear the same uniform. "For the past many years, we had been working on various colour combinations. Finally, in 2008 we decided to give a go ahead to the blue uniform. But it was not possible immediately to change the uniform as huge stocks of khaki were lying with the police. So we decided to first exhaust the old stock and then order for the new one," he said.

Gill said that initially, there was some opposition to this idea. "After initial reluctance, now most of the cops have agreed and understand the need to give a new look to the force," a senior police officer said. "At first, the cops posted in the districts would be given the new uniform. Later, the policemen deployed in the battalions would be provided the new dress. However, there is no extra expenditure involved as the khaki uniform is almost exhausted in police stores," Assistant Inspector General V.K. Dhawan said.

Dhawan said personnel above the rank of inspector, both of the Himachal Police Services (HPS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre would continue to wear khaki. "Nearly 250 personnel of the HPS and IPS would continue to wear the traditional khaki dress since countrywide, the uniform of IPS and state-cadre officers is the same," he said.