While the city celebrated the festival of lights with much fervor on Wednesday the mirth was elusive for the city's police personnel like other years. The personnel were as usual busy in keeping round the clock vigil to make other’s Deepawali an enjoyable affair.
"We must accept things. Doing duty and ensuring peace for others to savour the delight of the festivities to the last dregs is what we are for. We cannot help feeling a bit sad, but duty gains precedence over any other things," said Suresh Kumar, a home guard.
For the traffic police staff, such festivals mean extra hours of duty. Though the daily duty is six hours on normal days, it turns into eight hours when the festivals are on. This Diwali was no exception for them.
"Things become tough for us on Diwali and other festive days. The people are inclined to defy the traffic rules. We do not want to go for harsh steps as these might dampen the mood of mirth," said another traffic personnel who mans traffic near Araghar Chowk in Dehradun.
Another home guard Shubham Dhaundiyal said, "I am not from Dehradun. I don't get any off on festive days like Deepawali. So my dream of visiting my place to celebrate the occasion together with my near and dear ones remains unfulfilled. But I do not mind. My family members have also accepted the reality. Duty is more important than indulging in fancies," he added. .
"It is nothing new for us. I work normally from 8 am to 2 pm or from 2 pm to 8 pm as the things warrant. But this Deepawali, I worked for two more hours. This no longer makes me restless or frustrated. I take things in the right spirit," said Rajinder Singh, one of traffic police personnel.