The police force has been on its toes ever since the day-long Janata Curfew was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 22, which was immediately followed by Goa government extending it by three days (till March 25) and then in the midst of it all, PM Modi once again announced a lockdown, this time for 21 days till April 14, 2020.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jaspal Singh maintained that duty always comes first. In a brief conversation with Herald, he said, “police force has always risen to the occasion whenever the country has faced a crisis of any type of disaster, communal turmoil or any humanitarian crisis such as the present one.”
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The senior IPS officer explained the oath of the police to serve the nation stating, “A policeman while passing out; takes an oath to serve the nation under any circumstances. While people are indoors (during the present crisis), Goa police are out of the streets. It is physically challenging and mentally tiring work, but nonetheless they do it for the sake of safety of their fellow citizens.”
While the department has taken utmost care of its frontline personnel such as dividing working hours into three shifts to avoid physical and mental strain, officers from the rank of Police Inspectors (PI) have been performing nearly 15-18 hours of duty daily.
While police inspectors are taking care of their respective jurisdictions, the sub-divisional police officers and Superintendents of Police (SP) along with higher-ranking officers have also been personally monitoring the overall situation including surprise checks at border check posts.
“Our job is risky at all times whether it is a virus outbreak or not. We have to be strong as the public rely on us. I leave for work at around 7am daily and return home when all are asleep. But duty comes first. We want the public to stay indoors and safe, and to move out of their houses only if necessary,” Deputy (Dy) SP Police Edwin Colaco told Herald.
Another DySP, holding charge of three sub-divisions in South Goa, also expressed the same views as his colleague Colaco. “Nation and duty come first. We are frontline officers whose priority is to ensure the end of the spread of COVID-19. We are at a stage when all have to be united and understanding with each other. I do miss them (family) but let us think of doctors, health care staff, firefighters and many other performing round the clock duties. We have to stay calm, help those in need, encourage people to stay indoors until necessary and take all the precautions to stop the spread of the deadly virus,” he said.
Herald also spoke to some police inspectors, who on condition of anonymity shared their experience, and without complaining about stressful situations. “I leave for work at 6am and return by 11:30 pm or midnight. It’s a tough time the nation is going through and we all have to be united in fighting COVID-19. Yes, I do miss spending quality time with my family but I have no grievance,” said a PI.
In fact, PIs whom Herald spoke to have no complaints about work during this prevailing crisis. Similarly, the lower ranking staff too has extended complete support. “While we are on duty, our families are also supportive. It’s a testing time for all of us, so let us tackle till we win the battle against COVID-19,” an enthusiast official said.
With three shifts of eight hours each, the department has ensured its personnel get enough time to rest. “We do not know if the lockdown period would increase. We have to make sure that our frontline personnel are not mentally or physically exhausted, which is why the working hours are divided into three shifts. Their health is also our priority,” a senior officer said.
Needs taken care of
All non-emergency leaves of the men-in-khaki have either been cancelled or postponed in order to minimise in order to ensure sufficient force on the field to combat the pandemic. The frontline personnel have also been told to not take their weekly offs until the situation is under control.
“Although, at this moment, we are not able to grant leaves or weekly offs, our force has not sought any,” SP (IPS) Shobhit Saxena said.
With a challenging situation on their shoulders, the department has taken care of their daily needs as well as ensuring mental stability.
Saxena said that police canteen is stocked up on essentials for its personnel. Likewise, regular feedback is being taken from the field-staff on their requirements, which are filled in time-to-time.
On their safety at a time when even shaking hands is risky, the police officers and other frontline personnel are given high-graded masks and hand rubs. A local distillery, Saxena said, has handed over nearly 150 litres of hand rub through the CSR program. “During the night rounds, the staff carries some quantity of hand rubs for refilling at various points where our personnel are deployed…. Moreover, we have procured nearly 7,000 masks which are reusable and washable, lasting up to one month,” he added.
While counselling sessions and yoga sessions are not stalled, the staff is not mandated to attend. “It is voluntary if any personnel want to attend,” the officer said. The march past is also suspended and Gymnasium temporary shut, as social distancing is being practiced.
Police-community relationship blossoming
While self-isolation has turned into a family bonding time, it has also largely improved police-community relationships. After several attempts to build a bond of trust with common people, the men-in-khaki seems to have finally built a rapport.
From reaching out to migrants with food, milk and other essentials; to dropping stranded people back to their homes as well as buying groceries for senior citizens; the department is earning applauds.
SP (Control Room) Pankaj Kumar Singh, who is just a call away, has many instances to share wherein police machinery have been used to help the netizens in distress.
“Police teams across the State have been going beyond the call of duty. Providing regular meals to the needy, transporting people to their destinations, as well as ensuring that lockdown orders are obeyed; our teams are taking care of things,” he said speaking to Herald.
In one such case, a Major in Indian Army, posted in Punjab phoned Singh and requested help for his father, a retired Colonel, living in Porvorim. Singh said groceries and medicines were soon delivered at the retired army officer’s residence. “As and when he is in need of the essentials and medicines, our team helps him out,” the IPS officer said.
The department also facilitated assistance to a pregnant woman from Nashik to reach her native. She was expected to leave for her hometown for delivery, but lockdown orders stalled her trip. Singh recalled that her cousins from Nashik, called him seeking help after which the Margao police team made arrangements to ensure she and her husband reached Nashik safely. In another instance, last week, sub-inspector Mandar, and constables Nikhil and Prajakta escorted a mother and her new born from Goa Medical College to her village at Verem. 25-year-old Mumtaz Sheikh had recently delivered at the GMC but was stranded as she was cash-crunched to return home. It was here that the team reached out to the family and safely brought them back home.
Goa Police’s twitter account has also been full of good stories wherein police officials, in their personal capacity have too helped the people.
Volunteers, brands and business establishments among many others are coming forward to render help to the needy as the crisis is yet to end.
DySP Edwin Colaco added that besides cooked food, the infants and toddler migrants are also being given free milk every day. A businessman has also been providing boiled milk to migrant children in other areas under Colaco’s jurisdiction.
The Porvorim sub-division is also supporting volunteers and organisations who feed stray animals including dogs, across places within this jurisdiction. Similar stories have been coming from Mapusa, Pernem, Margao, Quepem and several other places.
From a sleepy to active
Twitter account
After being out of action for three-and-half years, Goa Police’s official Twitter handle DGP_Goa is fast becoming a popular account and winning people’s hearts. The Twitter handle has been posting stories about helping the needy be it migrants, labourers, foreign nationals, senior citizens, etc.
People have also been taking to Twitter to reach out to the police for help while also the social media team has been posting images and videos creating awareness to stay safe from the deadly infection. DGP_Goa was inactive since October 15, 2016 while getting back to active mode from March 28.
Negligible crime
Crime in Goa has taken a sharp dip during the last two weeks, when the country began observing total shutdown since March 22, 2020. The telephones in the control rooms and the police stations are ringing, but the calls are largely related to COVID-19. SP Pankaj Kumar Singh said that calls pertaining to crimes are almost negligible.
“The staff in the control room is working round the clock. We are rendering all the help citizens are in need of… About calls related to offenses, it is negligible,” he said.
The police stations have been reporting 80-90 percent drop in the crime rate. “The crime rate has significantly dropped. Nonetheless, the Reporting Section at the police stations is still functional. Our staff is working full-time be it law and order or enforcing lockdown orders,” a police inspector said.
Fire Force fighters,
unsung heroes too
Always on the forefront to combat fire incidents, the fire fighters have also been a part of carrying out tasks, risking their lives. The Directorate of Fire & Emergency Services has taken up sanitization of public places across the State to ensure safety from COVID-19 virus.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the meeting convened on March 31, 2020 had desired that as a proactive initiative, the DFES, Directorate of Municipal Administration, Directorate of Panchayat and Directorate of Transport should work together to sanitize public places such as markets, bus stands, etc.
Over 100 places have so far been sanitized with daily reports being circulated to the government and the media.
