Shot in the arm for civil defence

Bangalore: It's now time for citizens to come forward and participate in security-related initiatives. About 50 Area Suraksha Mitras, all representatives from the local community, were inducted into the Civil Defence on the occasion of Civil Defence and Home Guards Raising Day.
Organized by the joint effort of the Home Guards, Civil Defence & Fire Force Services along with Janaagraha on Saturday, these Area Suraksha Mitras are from all walks of life who have come together to chip in to make the city a safer place.They will be trained by the Civil Defence. These ASMs will take up the responsibility of looking after polling booths in the city. Each will handle a booth and thus totally cover over 5,000 polling booths in the city over a period of time.
After the induction, one of the Area Suraksha Mitras Venkatesh K V of Ramamurthynagar, also former deputy superintendent of police-BSF and NSG, said he wanted to do something for the society. "We always blame the government. After undergoing training, we as volunteers can help others. At the end of the day, satisfaction is what counts.''
Another volunteer V K Kadam, an ex-Army man and a resident of Banashankari II Stage, said citizens can be of some help for the society during a crisis. "I work with a private organisation but I always wanted to do something for others and got this opportunity,'' he said.
DGP Home Guards Jija Hari Singh said training for the ASMs will be similar to that of Home Guards. They will be trained in first aid, fire fighting, disaster management, wireless operation, communication, computers and leadership, among others.
Raising Day is celebrated for the commitment and dedication rendered by volunteers. Three Home Guards -- Hanumanth Krishna Jadhav (Bagalkot district), Vijay Kumar (Gulbarga district) and M Kumar (Udupi district) -- who laid down their lives while on duty were honoured.
Jadhav sacrificied his life while trying to save the lives of people during Rathothsava at Bannahatti in Bagalkot district. In the recent Mumbai terror attack, an Home Guard of Maharashtra sacrificed his life while on duty.
Principal secretary, department of transport, Upendra Tripathy said there was a need for induction of more Home Guards. The state has 25,000 Home Guard volunteers. A proposal has been sent for the induction of 85,000 Home Guards, he added.
Those who'd like to join as volunteers can email: asm@janaagraha.org
`Public participation plays a strong role'
Cofounder of Janaagraha, the Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Ramesh Ramanathan shares his views with STOI on the role of community participation, the recent terror attack and the way forward.
How important is the role of community participation in the society?
For any solution in terms of civic or security, public participation plays a strong role. Especially at the local level, it is at the heart of a successful democracy. I believe government has to do a lot like upgrade its equipment, intelligence and strengthen personnel. It also needs a strong commitment component. But the first line of defence is the community. The recent attacks have led to a high level of frustation and anger and one wants to do something constructive.
Following the Mumbai terror attacks, is there a possibility that Bangalore can be the target?
Bangalore is a vulnerable place for such similar attacks. The reality is that in a democracy and open society, there is always the possibility of such attacks. But we can minimize it by improving government security and enforcing our ability to respond.
What will be the role of Area Suraksha Mitras and how will it help?
The lead is taken by the police force and we are just supporting it. The system of Area Suraksha Mitras starts at the polling system. Volunteers will cover all the 5,000 polling booths. Thus, it can map the entire city by the footprint of the polling booths. And the 100 police stations can be connected to the polling booths. So, the community will act as a link and police force as immediate point of contact.
How far has Janaagraha been able to reach out to the masses?
We have a long way to go and there are many challenges ahead to improve the quality of life of people. In some of our projects, we could have made progress. In the JN-NURM mission, there has been a significant participation in catalysing it and in giving citizens a legislative platform for participation. There is a community participation using polling booths. In a year, community participation law will be enforced in the state. We have been also able to mobilize the community, involve schoolchildren, a voting campaign, and all these had positive outcomes.