PUNE: The staff at Haveli police station includes only three officers and 42 policemen but it has 17 villages under its jurisdiction that stretches over 9sqkm jurisdiction. The
Sinhagad
Road police station, covering 10sqkm area from Dhayari to Rajaram Bridge, has 16 officers and 133 men on its staff.
When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out with the first patient in Pune from Dhayari area, the two police stations were responsible for cordoning off the area and they were able to effectively manage the situation thanks to 160 alert citizens. Local residents stepped forward to help the police man check posts, prevent crowding at public places and patrol the area.
Senior inspector
Nandakishore Shelke
, in-charge of Sinhagad police station, said, “The citizens felt they were duty-bound to assist the police and enrolled as volunteers. We appointed them as special police officers and allotted them duty in areas close to their residence along with our men. They were asked to work for a few hours in the mornings and evenings. They worked diligently and in a disciplined manner while following the social distancing norms themselves.”
“When the lockdown was declared, we met villagers and appealed the young, able-bodied people to help us. They responded positively. We formed ‘village defence parties’ and assigned them to patrol their villages with our staff,” said senior inspector
Ashok Shelke
, in-charge of the Haveli police station.
However, the officers said, a big shot in the arm came from a private security firm run by Prashant Deokar (38). “Some 25 days ago, he offered to provide the services of 11 trained personnel to assist us along with patrol vehicles. We decided to post the guards, temporarily called as ‘martials’ at vantage points such as Navale Bridge,
Dhayari Phata
, Nanded Phata, Kolhewadi, Kirkatwadi and Khadakwasla,” said Shelke.
Deokar and his team have been working with the police for over three weeks now. “We have even helped the police patrol teams at isolation centres. This is our contribution to the society and the police force. I have a special affinity for the police as my father was an officer. When the pandemic broke out, I could see the policemen stressed out and decided to do everything possible to help them,” he shared.