Rayagada Police in a new Avtar of role transformation
Rayagada (Badal Tah ) : From the role of “We dare & we care”, the later has taken a prominence in the regime of Ms Swath S Kumar, SP of Rayagada. It has just gone beyond the role of investigation, unearthing illegal assets & extortion, nabbing law breakers and drug peddlers, taking extremists to task, punishment, arrest, etc. Most of these unlawful activities are carried out by hooligans with some local support either with their consent or through pressure/terror tactics. Swati, with experience of working in tribal areas with said issues, has gone to the root cause and started working with persuasion, motivation rather than coercion, aggression. Under her leadership, the police has become people friendly as far as poverty is concerned. For example, in interior pockets of Chandrapur, Gudari, Ramanaguda, Gunupur & Padmapur blocks ganja cultivation was rampant. The cultivators, mainly tribals, are engaged by the mafia, who take the major chunk of the profit. The tribals are still languishing with extreme poverty with a fear psychosis. They are continuously coaxed by the ganja mafias to cultivate & cling on this cycle of poverty.
Swati knew this poverty syndrome and instructed her colleagues in these mapped villages, where ganja cultivation is rampant, to have direct interface with the affected communities and instill confidence in them and explore alternative means of livelihood. As a part of its people-friendly commitment, police has transformed its role as motivator creating awareness on pros and cons of getting involved in cannabis production, processing and distribution.
Recently, Swati spearheaded a campaign named “Aim Zero” against ganja cultivation. Awareness programmes on illegal cultivation of cannabis plants were conducted by Chandrapur, Padmpaur and Gudari Police at Village Bijapur under Chandrapur PS, Liktipadar GP premises under Padmpaur PS, Village Bandili under Gudari PS. Chandrapur Police conducted an awareness programme at Surulu village to spread awareness about the harmful effects and legal consequences of ganja cultivation. PRI members and villagers of Sanpankal, Pankalgudi, Gadengi, Gandagudi attended the meeting. Gudari Police visited the villages of Talakatili, Racham, and Nalagambhari to spread awareness about the harmful effects and legal consequences of ganja cultivation. And they were sensitised not to do Ganja cultivation.
The villagers were also made aware regarding zero cultivation in the area. In the awareness meeting all line departments, PRI members attended and were sensitised about no cultivation of ganja & told to take community led initiatives in this front. They took pledge to fight against cultivation of ganja on International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. Personnel from forest, fire, excise, police & all other deptts. were told to work hard with commitment to ensure zero cultivation in Rayagada district. Ama Police/Police public-interaction programmes have emphasized on sustained awareness. Local denizens applaud the efforts of Rayagada police regarding their role transformation.
