8 projects launched by Odisha cops in last 7 years shelved owing to transfers, poor monitoring

BHUBANESWAR: The commissionerate police had launched many people-friendly policing services in the capital city. However, eight such projects that were introduced in the last seven years are no longer functional. The transfers of police commissioners and poor monitoring of the old schemes by their successors resulted in the discontinuation of some of the initiatives. TOI compiles the status of the once-popular ambitious projects.
Mo Saathi App: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had launched this mobile application on May 15, 2015 for the safety of women in the state capital during the tenure of commissioner of police R P Sharma. The women were urged to download the app and register their names with the police to avail of the app’s benefits. In case of an emergency, the women in distress used to send an alert to the police by pressing the power button five times, following which the cops would come to the victim’s rescue by tracing the cell phone’s location. The review of the initiative has been stopped for years.
Self-defence lessons for students: In the wake of the rising incidents of crime against women, the commissionerate police had on October 27, 2014 started self-defence lessons for school and college girls. The police officers used to visit different educational institutions and impart self-defence training to the girls as part of the initiative. However, it was discontinued within a year of its launch. R P Sharma was the CP when the initiative was rolled out.
Pink autos: To ensure the safe commute of women in the capital city, former CP R P Sharma had launched the pink auto-rickshaw service on June 27, 2014. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had himself flagged off these autos. Police had imparted etiquette lessons to the drivers and also given them uniforms and identity cards. Almost a year later, these auto-rickshaws went off the roads. The police are now planning to revive the service following a recent directive from the government.
Interactive traffic portal: Former police commissioner Y B Khurania had launched a dedicated traffic website — (http://www.bhubaneswarcuttacktrafficpolice.in/index.php) — on July 30, 2018. The objective was to make motorists and commuters aware of road safety rules. This website was supposed to give citizens real-time traffic updates and they were also asked to share photos of those found violating the rules on the interactive portal. Nearly six months after the launch, the portal became defunct.
Know your police: Former police commissioner Satyajit Mohanty had introduced the ‘Know your police’ initiative for school students on September 8, 2018. The commissionerate police had invited students to different police stations where they were made to interact with the cops and get a peak into their functioning. The project was stopped after Mohanty’s transfer
APOSSA Yojna: In February 2019, the commissionerate police had launched a community-oriented policing service in slums of the twin cities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to curb crimes and sensitise youths against narcotics abuse. The policing service was christened as APOSSA (All-round promotion of sports in slums and young juveniles against narcotics abuse) Yojna. Under the scheme, the commissionerate police promoted sports activities in slums and organised campaigns against drugs abuse. Police distributed different sports equipment and jerseys among representatives of some slums in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. However, the initiative was discontinued following the transfer of former police commissioner Satyajit Mohanty.
Women SPO: The commissionerate police had on January 2, 2020 designated some girls of different colleges and working women of some IT firms as special police officers (SPO) to check crime against women at their workplaces. Sudhanshu Sarangi was the police commissioner when the project was launched with much fanfare. The SPOs are now in the dark about their roles and responsibilities as the project has been lying defunct.
Dadabati Ku Na: On October 16, 2020, former police commissioner Sudhanshu Sarangi had constituted an anti-extortion task force (AETF) and launched a special programme under the banner of Dadabati Ku Na (say no to extortion). Police had warned the gangsters of stringent action if they harassed citizens, especially businessmen in the twin cities, and had also arrested some extortionists. The project is now in a moribund state.
ICLIK: The Odisha Police had launched ICLIK (instant complaint logging internet kiosk) for women on January 28, 2014. ICLIK, an ATM look-alike device installed inside an ATM booth in Saheed Nagar, encouraged women to instantly lodge their grievances without immediately visiting the police stations. The initiative was discontinued a few months after the launch.