The middle and lower rung police personnel deployed in police stations of the State are hoping that the initiative of Agra Police to provide weekly offs to its staff is also followed in Uttarakhand.
On the suggestion of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, the Agra police has started three weekly offs to the staff deployed in police stations located in Hathiparvat circle on an experimental basis. The move aimed to improve work efficiency and reduce stress is finding favor among the policemen of Uttarakhand also. An undercurrent of support for this measure is flowing among the policemen deployed in 152 Police stations, 138 Outposts and 92 Reporting posts of Uttarakhand as idea of a weekly offs is captivating them.
“The duty in Police Thanas is very tough; sometimes we are forced to work for two to three days at a stretch. It is good that UP police has taken an initiative for weekly off. We strongly feel that to ensure an effective policing the concept of weekly offs is also employed in Uttarakhand,’’ said one of a sub- inspector deployed in a police station of Dehradun.
Similar sentiments were echoed by another policeman who said that heart burns occur when fellow policemen posted in Police headquarters, local Intelligence Units and CID get the benefit of leaves on Sundays. He added that the policemen posted in police stations and posts would be happy if the offs are given once in a fortnight.
The senior psychiatrist and Medical Superintendent of associated hospital of Doon Medical College (DMC), Dr J S Rana said that regular leaves from work are must to keep a person in healthy state of mind. He informed that fatigue syndrome sets in if one is forced to work without breaks, the signs of which are irate behavior, loss of appetite and inclination towards substance abuse. In acute cases, a person can suffer nervous breakdown and depression.
When contacted by The Pioneer, the State Director General (DG) of Police, M A Ganapathy said that the idea of weekly offs to the policemen is good. He said that the policemen in the districts like Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar are overworked and the department would consider providing them relief.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Bureau of Police Research and Development and Administrative Staff College of India jointly worked on a study titled 'National Requirement of Manpower for 8-hour Shift in Police Stations'; the study revealed that long working hours was the reason why police officers were not fit and healthy and behaved rudely with the public, which further diminished the image of police, in general. The study found that 90 percent of police officers work for more than eight hours a day and 73 percent of them do not get any off even once in a month.