Bengaluru: 15,000 civilians sign up to help cops police city

Rajiv Kalkod / TNN / Jul 20, 2020, 12:45 IST

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With increasing infections in Bengaluru city police ranks and veterans asked to keep off work as a safety measure, more than 15,000 civilians have volunteered to become ‘civil police wardens’ to help enforce Covid-19 norms.

(From left) Shivaramakrishna BK, Abhinandan, Shivakumar Aradhya, Srikanth and Ashok Kumar V who have volunteered to help police in ensuring Covid-19 norms are followed in KS Layout, south Bengaluru. (Right) Degree student volunteers stop and question a motorist on KR Road

BENGALURU: With increasing infections in Bengaluru city police ranks and veterans asked to keep off work as a safety measure, more than 15,000 civilians have volunteered to become ‘civil police wardens’ to help enforce Covid-19 norms.
Heeding city police commissioner Bhaskar Rao’s call for volunteers due to a shortage of manpower in the department, thousands applied for ‘civil police warden’ or ‘civil police cadet’ posts.About 5,000 have already taken to the field. Under the supervision of officers, volunteers will do night rounds and man the 320 checkposts in the city.
Of the applicants, 500 women, some of whom have hit the ground running. Nandini G from Jayanagar II Block, a volunteer in Wilson Garden, told TOI: “I stop women on twowheelers and cars and ask them why they are out. Some of them reply decently and some ask me whether I am a cop and why I am not in uniform. Unfortunately, public have not taken the Covid-19 situation seriously.”
VK Shivaramakrishna, an actor by profession and volunteer from KS Layout, South Bengaluru said he was pleased to join hands with the police. “We join them on night rounds, inform station about offences, distribute handbills and hold regular meetings with senior officers on law and order issues in our area,” said Shivaramakrishna, who heads of ‘Namma KS Layout Kavalu Pade’ comprising around 50 civilians.

Volunteers work in three shifts, each about four to five hours in duration. “First shift is from 6am to 11am. Second begins at 1pm and ends at 7pm. The last begins at 9pm and ends at midnight. These shift timing are only for volunteers and not for police,” a senior officer said. Shivakumar Aradhya, a makeup artiste and a civil police warden in Basavanagudi, said “I work with the film industry and currently I don’t have many assignments. My job is to stop private vehicles near Basavanagudi circle. Police will question them later.” Shivaramakrishna and Aradhya were joined by their friends Srikant, Abhinandan and Ashok Kumar V.
“We are fortunate to have volunteers who know different languages or else, conversing with truck drivers entering the city would have been a problem,” a constable said.
Those interested in volunteering have to log in to bcp.gov.in and register.

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