Abandoned playgrounds and shrubby vacant plots are springing back to life in the coastal hamlet of Munambam, thanks to a community police initiative of the Munambam Janamaithri police.
The police have donned the role of a facilitator to channel youthful zest and exuberance to sporting activities, thus diverting them away from damaging habits such as smoking and drinking and by extension, from the world of crime.
A youngster was found murdered near the Kuzhipilly beach a couple of months ago and the accused were also found to be of the same age group with some predilection for drug use. The incident, in a way, triggered the idea of engaging youngsters in meaningful activities physically and mentally.
“During our patrolling, we used to find youngsters either idling away fixated on their mobile phones or smoking or drinking and some of them could get strayed to criminal activities in due course. The response to the campaign from the youngsters has been overwhelming, though we have just started it. We plan to help them access the playgrounds and vacant plots by directly interacting with the owners. Since the police are involved, the owners are willing to cooperate since they have the guarantee that their property will not be alienated and will get it back when they need it,” said A.K. Sudheer, Station House Officer, Munambam.
The excited youngsters are already busy preparing a cricket pitch along the Munambam beach while a fairly large vacant plot near Kuzhipilly beach is being cleaned. Youngsters are free to choose the sports item and police facilitate sponsorships to get the equipment needed to play it.
The police are actively using the social media to reach out to youngsters to further the campaign. “We have our own Janamaithri police group and groups of volunteers helping the police and Rapid Response Teams created to fight the pandemic. All these groups are effectively used for communicating the messages related to the campaign,” said Mr. Sudheer.
Only, in their excitement, youngsters seem to be getting way too demanding, and the police seem willing to indulge them as long as they can afford it.
