Yamraj hits Deoghar roads to enforce Lockdown 2.0

Abhijit Sen & Rajesh Kumar Pandey | TNN | Apr 15, 2020, 06:00 IST

Dumka/Hazaribag: Yamraj, the God of death in Hindu mythology, and his emissary Yamdoot roamed the streets in the temple town of Deoghar soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus until May 3.
Deployed by the police to remind the people about the perils of stepping out of their homes during the coronavirus outbreak, the harbingers of doom were seen sitting on top of patrol vehicles warning locals that they would be taking those violating social distancing and hygiene protocols to the underworld.
“I am Yamraj and coronavirus is my agent. It will bring you all to me if you do not adhere to the government instructions. Stay home,” the loudspeakers blared. Yamraj’s monologue, originally in Hindi, was translated into the local language as well.
Deoghar SDPO Vikas Chandra Srivastava said, “We engaged local artists to spread awareness among residents. The drive will continue throughout the lockdown period and extend to rural pockets of the district soon.” A similar initiative was rolled out in Dhanbad district recently and Hazaribag also adopted the idea.
In Hazaribag, “Corona Yamraj” is travelling on police vans under Lohshinga police station and other parts of the town with a warninng song on loudspeakers. Hazaribag SDPO Lal Kishore said, “We made a havildar wear a special costume and play the role of Yamraj. The move has been appreciated by the people.
He said the idea is to sensitize people with a pinch of humour as an alternative approach to “danda” policing. “While we are taking action against violatiors, ‘Corona Yamraj’ is a soft way to engage the people,” Kishore added.