Fresh MHA guidelines set to add burden on cops

Soumitra Bose | TNN | Apr 21, 2020, 04:27 IST

Nagpur: The fresh guidelines issues by the ministry of home affair’s (MHA) for the extended lockdown period till May 3 may leave the already burdened cops overworked.
The containment zones, clusters and hotspots have been the prime focus of city police. As per the new guidelines, equal concentration is required for other adjoining areas and elsewhere in the city too. In addition, city police will also have to keep tabs on the industries and companies for ensuring that lockdown norms are not violated and social distancing is maintained.
City police commissioner BK Upadhyay said his force will try to carry out the responsibilities as much as possible.
The fresh guidelines have indicated that cops will have to stretch community policing further. During the forthcoming community testing, police will have to ensure safety of health officials. Preparing for the community testing drive, cops will have to organize peace committee meetings involving local leaders so that they can intervene in case of resistance or violence against the health team.
They will have to provide security to migrant labourers during their transportation to different work sites now, as the government is set to allow them to earn their livelihood in the area of their skills. Police are already managing security of shelter homes. Later, cops would have to ensure these migrant labourers do not cross the state border.
Till 4pm on Monday, city police have already registered 3,341 offences against violators since lockdown.
A senior inspector said police machineries would be exhausted if they are compelled to take up so many different responsibilities at the same time. “With the available manpower, it would be extremely demanding in regions like Vidarbha, where temperatures are high in summer, to meet the responsibilities so diverse in nature,” said the inspector.
Another officer said that different agencies are handling separate work responsibilities as far as fighting Covid-19 is concerned but police remain present with all such teams. “City police have also taken up the responsibility to feed almost 1 lakh people per day with the help of NGOs and groups,” he said.