Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa Police have been on their toes since ‘Janta Curfew’ on Sunday with announcements being made in every lane and by-lane advising people to remain indoors unless absolutely necessary. However, what caught the attention was that majority of these policemen on front line duties had been without masks and hand-sanitisers/handrubs.
Earlier, Herald’s inquiry revealed that no protective supplies for the officers/personnel were made available. Interestingly, couple of hours after Herald contacted several higher ups for their comments – who admitted no protective gears were provided; huge stock of N-95 masks was received at North District office on Monday evening. The distribution process began thereafter. On Monday evening, about 500 masks each for North and south districts were allocated
Until then, some had been making their own arrangements to ensure personal safety from the deadly COVID-19.
“Our first responders are being poorly equipped to deal with the crisis. We are given vehicles to move around our respective jurisdictions but at a time when the virus is fast spreading, masks and hand cleaning tools are also important which is not provided to us,” said a police officer of the rank of inspector before the department realised the seriousness of the issue.
“We are on the field all through the day and night. The crowd is less but we can’t take a chance. What if something happens to us? We are in direct contact with the public at large. We are putting ourselves, families and even colleagues at risk,” another officer, attached with the police station in the coastal belt lamented.
Many police stations in the North district, popular among tourists and now deserted due to the lockdown, also remained without the protective supplies. However, keeping in mind their own safety – most of these men-in-khaki purchased masks and hand sanitisers at their own cost.
A senior police inspector said that staff at one of the units made it compulsory for its staff to use the protective gears within the premise as well as while on field-duty. “We have mandatorily asked our personnel to wear masks. We have spent from our own pockets to purchase the masks and hand sanitisers. Anyone including general public entering our unit is asked to use the hand rubs/hand sanitizers before interacting with the staff,” he said.
During the ‘Janta Curfew’, ironically, the personnel advising people to remain indoors were themselves without safety gears. The videos, on social media, including the ones on Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s Twitter account is evidence.
A Superintendent of Police (SP) confirmed to Herald that while the department did not provide its frontline personnel, officers with these protective gears (until Monday evening); the staff in South district buying these at their own cost can apply for a reimbursement. “Staff, using their money to buy the masks and hand sanitisers/hand rubs can submit the bills to us. These will be forwarded to the higher ups reimbursed,” the officer, said.
The police headquarters recently distributed its staff with high-graded masks. However, hand rubs are still to be provided with a senior officer stating that pharmaceutical companies are contacted for wholesale delivery.
