NEW DELHI: Home-cooked meals, words of encouragement from family members and some precautionary measures such as masks and hand sanitisers — these few things keep policemen going and motivated as they come out to report for a 12-hour long duty during the nationwide lockdown clamped to stanch the coronavirus outbreak.
Delhi Police personnel deployed across the city— at checkpoints, traffic junctions or even in hospitals and other facilities, where coronavirus patients are being treated and quarantined, remain resolute while dealing with the lockdown.
Rakesh Singh (name changed), a police official on duty in Nizamuddin area, from where more than 2,300 people including those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in the vicinity, were evacuated between March 27 and 31, said the cops are worried about their own wellbeing for obvious reasons, but determined to tide over the coronavirus crisis.
“Our families are concerned, but I am sure they understand it’s my duty. I take all precautions before and after the duty. I carry home-cooked food, a water bottle, a sanitiser and wear a good quality mask every day. I have support and blessings of my wife and children,” Singh said.
Showing no grudges against the people on road, Singh said he understands the apparent apprehension and anxiousness residents.
“We need to be careful, but it is our duty to ensure strict enforcement of lockdown. Daily wagers are the worst sufferers. I keep biscuits packets with me and distribute them among the needy,” said Mahesh Kumar, an assistant inspector, manning a check post in East Delhi.
Estimated strength of the Delhi Police is about 85-90,000. Since the lockdown announced on March 23, around 25-33 per cent of the force have been working on a rotational basis as ordered by Delhi Police Commissioner SN Srivastava.
What cops say