VIZIANAGARAM: The village protection committee formed by the police has been keeping a strict vigil round the clock at Ramatheertham temple, where Sreerama idol was vandalised by some unidentified miscreants.The village protection force was formed at Ramatheertham last week with the slogan of ‘Mana grama rakshana-Mana Badhyata (Our village protection, our responsibility).
After the incident at Ramatheertham on December 29, police conducted several meetings in the village to ensure peace, by involving youths, women group members and village heads. The village protection force has 30 youths as members — 10 youths each from Ramatheertham, Gorle peta and Seetaramunipeta villages.
They keep a watch on the temples and other religious places situated in the isolated places. “The prime duty of the village protection committee is to inform the police immediately if unknown people are found in the village,” said district SP B Raja Kumari. She said before forming the committee, they had conducted several meetings to bridge the gap between police and villagers.
“The police have announced `10,000 cash prize for giving information about the miscreants, who vandalised the Sreerama idol at the hill shrine. The police also promised to hand over `50,000 from other grants. We have been keeping strict watch on the temples, other religious places and even on the government properties,” said R Krishan, a village protection committee member.