VIJAYAWADA: Declaring that all police personnel will undergo Covid-19 vaccination after completion of Gram Panchayat elections and counting on February 21, Director General of Police (DGP) Gautam Sawang said the police department has once again demonstrated commitment and professionalism in according priority to public safety.
Addressing media at the police headquarters in Mangalagiri on Monday, the DGP said the Andhra Pradesh Police Officers’ Association (APPOA), after discussing with all the unit officers, has voluntarily decided to postpone the vaccination drive by a month since the activity will disturb the election duties, bandobust for Covid-19 vaccination for health workers and regular law and order duties. It may be noted the Supreme Court has instructed the AP government to conduct both vaccination and polls simultaneously.
“There is an urgent need for manpower during phase-2 polls since the polling process will be held at several places. The police personnel will be involved in the election process from February 7 to 21, during which time they will be moved from one place to another,” the DGP said. Stating that all the police stations will be working with a skeletal staff during the election period, Sawang said a majority of personnel would be engaged in law and order duties, vaccination bandobust duties, election duties and vaccination process. He added Panchayat elections need engagement of the police at micro level and challenging as issues get localised and sensitive.
“To reduce the burden on the department and to ensure that the polls are conducted peacefully, we need enough staff to complete the election process. Currently, we have around 73,000 personnel. About 14,362 personnel have been infected and 109 have succumbed to it,” he observed. Meanwhile, APPOA representatives opined that it would be appreciated if State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar considers their request to postpone the elections until the vaccination drive concludes.
Expressing worry over the spread of coronavirus, representatives said the department has always been in the forefront. “Be it lockdown duties or vaccination bandobust duties, the police have never hesitated to take up the challenge. We are ready to sacrifice our lives in public interest,” they said.