CM inaugurates Rs 10 crore wellbeing programme for Tamil Nadu police force

CHENNAI: Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday heaped praise on the state police force while noting that his government was keeping a tab on all the criticism the force has received in recent times.
The government signed an MoU with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), Bengaluru, to conduct a ?10 crore wellness programme for police personnel to help them cope with stress.At its inauguration, the chief minister said the police had been doing a meticulous job while under enormous stress.
The chief minister said that the programme was designed with the family in mind as police do not get enough time with their families, adding to their stress. An estimated 1.2 lakh police personnel and 3.6 lakh of their kin will benefit from the programme, he said.
Palaniswami said the police department identified 462 personnel as master trainers who will attend the workshop in Bengaluru. They will then train othersin batchesof35 personnel each, three days a week. The programme will also cover special wings. B N Gangadhar, director of Nimhans, said the wellbeing of police affected the public. “With 25% of police plagued by stress, this is the first state to come up with this novel programme,” he said.