”Namma Mane Police” - a wonderful initiative

Yesterday I was in Mysore to attend a program. It was a program with a difference organized by the Mysore Police. The Project titled "NAMMA MANE  POLICE" (which meant our home police or our police) is the initiative pursued by my cabinet colleague, the Medical Education Minister Sri Ramdas. He has the inspiration of Gujrat model where a similar initiative has been taken by its Government.

This enterprising adventure by Mr Ramdas has benevolent desires. Police force most of the time is falsely viewed as less people friendly. The communication between the law protectors and the common man is something badly desired in order to have a healthy Society which in turn brings down the crime rate. This program was a step in that direction. 

The key features of this program are as follows:

> Every 200 houses will have one police constable taking care of. Two teachers will assist him and survey each house of his jurisdiction to collect various details in a comprehensive format.

> They will find out if any boy/girl below the age of 15 years in that house is staying back at home or working somewhere instead of  attending the school.

> This team ideally termed as 'Akshara-Aarakshaka' meaning the alphabet-police, will take necessary steps to enroll all those children completing 5 years to nearby schools.

> Education department, Mysore Zilla Panchayath have joined hands with the police department's ambitious project. Stickers containing the name of the police constable assigned to that particular house, his photo, his phone no, his station phone no, control room no, ambulance-helpline no, etc will be fastened to each house. Around 800 police constables from mysore city and 460 constables from rural my sore are enlisted for this 'movement'.

>Each team shall sit minimum 10 minutes in each house to get the details. The details include even the names of persons who have vacated houses and new persons who have occupied.

> Each constable is given a new mobile set, courtesy the Zilla Panchayath which has sponsored. Each constable is also given computer training to key in the data.

> THE best part of it is on the first of June, every member of this big team (from the Minister In-charge to gram panchayat member, police, teachers) will accompany the children in their respective allotted areas to schools as it will be the first day of this academic year.

While speaking at the function, I was telling in a lighter vein, that many of these people might not have accompanied their children even once to the schools in their lives and will be doing so for the society through this programme. I don't know if their own children will be happy or upset after learning about this assignment.

> Thus, each house will have a police constable who will become almost a family member because of this frequent interaction and each police will have a definite block, where he will be the guardian.

The whole senate hall of manasa gangothri in mysore, was full of beaming police constables who were rearing to go to their respective slots with those formats and the newly possessed mobiles. This is a real innovative initiative that can really change the image of the police. Last year too, mysore police earned laurels in their deft handling the massive dasara crowd with their people friendly attitude. I was very happy to inaugurate this unique programme that too immediately after one full week of tensions, courtesy Raj Bhavan. AND I said, go ahead Mysore Police, the whole state will definitely emulate you. My complements to Sri Ramdas who brought this idea from Gujarath and Sri Sunil Agarwal-the Police Commissioner of Mysore who is spearheading the implementation.

S.SURESH KUMAR