The last week of 2009 turned out to be a hectic one for the city police with two political rallies, a festive occasion,deaths of two renowned legends, violence and a celebration.
Despite having to work with little time to rest, the police personnel are not complaining. Instead, they thank the training they had undergone and the cooperation and encouragement of senior officers, which they claim, had prepared them to face any situation.
On Monday, the personnel were deployed around temples, as devotees observed the auspicious occasion of Vaikunda Ekadasi. Then came the Congress rally, taken out as part of that party’s 125th anniversary, followed by a protest march by flood-hit farmers from North Karnataka. The same day itself, the city mourned the death of C Ashwath, renowned composer.
On Wednesday, the police oversaw the funeral of yet another cultural legend, Vishnuvardhan, who died following a massive cardiac arrest. His fans took out to the streets, indulging in violence, which made police resort to lathi charge and firing of teargas shells and rubber bullets.
The last day of the year, the police were deployed across the city – 13,000 of them – to ensure a safe and peaceful New Year celebration.
Manjunath K, a constable at the Cubbon Park police station, admitted that the past week was stressful. “But, this is our duty. Our inspector is quite flexible and he has asked us to report a bit late on Friday. We are being motivated by our senior officers and we are also trained to handle such pressure,” he said.
While echoing similar sentiments, DS Rajendra, inspector of Byatarayanapura police station said he was proud to see all his men at the station on time on Thursday. “The preceding two days were exhausting, but we keep ourselves motivated all the time. On Wednesday night, all the personnel went home by midnight and the next morning, they reported on time. I felt happy and appreciated their commitment. I feel that appreciation and motivation could make anyone work with efficiency even if they are physically tired,” he said.
According to Muniraju, a constable attached to the JP Nagar police station, they are used to dealing with such heavy workload.
“During our training, they make us prepared to encounter these types of situations. To keep us going, we just need the co-operation and appreciation of our seniors. If it is there, we can face ten times more than what we had faced this time,” he said, reflecting the general mood in the force.
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