VIJAYAWADA: The 1989 batch IPS officer, Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, who has completed one year as the Vijayawada police commissioner, shares the remarkable work done by the city police this year and clarifies doubts on the implementation of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill -2019.
It’s been a year since you took charge as the Vijayawada police commissioner. What are the
challenges you have faced so far?
Taking charge as the police commissioner of a city like Vijayawada is always a challenge for any officer. The city has changed a lot in the past five years after the announcement of the capital city. In order to take the policing to the grassroots level, we have initiated Cheruva and launched Stree Shakti teams, according to top priority to the safety of women.
The second priority has been given to the detection and solving of property offences. For that, the Central Crime Station (CCS) has been reorganised, making all the station house officers (SHOs) accountable. We also took cybercrime cases seriously. In just a year, the number of cases under investigation (UI) dropped to less than 4,000 from 8,000.
What are the measures taken by the police to control blade batch gangs?
We took stringent action against the gangs attacking people. As a part of special drives, we have counselled all the history-sheeters and people with criminal records. We are also monitoring their movements.
These days the people are worried about the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill. What action would the police take?
The bill is yet to come into force. So we are waiting for the orders. Meanwhile, we will continue to conduct enforcement drives as per the old Act. Fines will remain the same till the orders on the new Act come into force.
How the Vijayawada police are going to tackle the resistance from the public on the imposition of hefty fines?
The proposed fines are hefty. One can escape from paying fines by following the traffic rules. We are going to act tough against traffic violators. To reduce road accidents, we are going to strictly implement helmet rule.
Is it not a fact that police have failed in traffic management and preventing road accidents?
We are conducting periodical meetings with all stakeholders and taking measures to streamline traffic and reduce congestion at the main junctions. Despite creating awareness on traffic regulations through awareness campaigns and Cheruva, some people are still violating rules. We are imposing fines on violators and conducting special counselling sessions.
What are the steps being taken by the police to make the city safe for women?
Damodar Gautam Sawang has instructed us to accord priority to security of women, girls and other vulnerable sections of the society. Mahila Mithra, Mahila Rakshak and Stree Shakti teams have succeeded in giving protection and empowering the women.