‘Gram Rakshaks, Police Mitras assisting cops to ensure effective lockdown’
Udaipur : Alarmed by the increasing number of positive cases in the neighboring Banswara district, the police and district administration in Dungarpur have beefed up security measures and are making all efforts to restrict public entry from the bordering hotspots. In this chain, patrol boats have been launched in Kadana dam , the backwater of Mahi river that joins Kushalgarh and Anantpuri of Banswara which share borders with Dungarpur. ” We are patrolling the river shores and also be sticking to our strategy of engaging with people and asking them why they are moving around during the lockdown. The fishing activities have completely been prohibited here and we have sealed the boats. We have hired two boats from the fishermen which is being used in three shifts throughout the day to keep watch” Dungerpur SP Jai Yadav told Udaipur Kiran. Two cops each on two boats are round the clock working in three shifts of 8 hours each and patrol an area of around 10-15 kilometers of water surface.
Besides the patrol boats, the police has also constituted Gram Rakshak Dals and Police Mitras who are volunteers ,assisting the cops to ensure lockdown rules are being followed effectively. ” There are some 400 Police Mitras deployed at various checkpoints along with the police guards. They join the duty in the morning and stay through out the day. They have been granted relaxation to go home for lunch and refreshments but most of them stay with the police entire day and even have food with the cops. They do not let anyone roam around unnecessarily in the area.
The police mitras have been given T shirts so that they may be identified” Yadav said. Besides them, are every village has some gram rakshaks. In all 476 Gram Rakshaks are there, who undertake night duty to safeguard their respective areas. Hathai village under Dovada police station was the first to have such gram rakshaks in their village and inspired by its success the model has been applied for the entire district which is a great hit now, the SP said. These people report about any newcomer in the village and keep communicating with people on the importance of social distancing.