MALAPPURAM: Ponnani coastal station Sub-Inspector P J Albert is no ordinary police officer. Past makes the man is literally true in the good sense in the case of Albert.
Coming from the fisher community at Mararikkulam in Alappuzha district, Albert ventures into the sea in his free time even now for fishing and distribute the catch among his friends and others here.
That is not all, he runs various initiatives like holding coaching classes and quiz sessions for children from the fisher community to help them crack Public Service Commission examinations and get government jobs. To those who ask him why he engages in fishing even after becoming a sub-inspector, the 48-year-old says using the fishing techniques he learnt from his father Joseph when he was a child helps him refresh his mind and stay focused.
“Venturing into the sea reminds me of my past of growing up in a poor family. This inspires me to stay focused and run welfare initiatives for my community,” Albert says.
Albert doesn’t feel ashamed to say he is from the fishing community unlike several others who try to hide their background from their peers and friends.
“My family and, in fact, all people in the fisher community in Alappuzha face intense financial crisis in some months when the sea doesn’t give much to make a living. We even had to live without enough food for months. Those days, we had to make coir and wait for it to be sold to get good food.”
Albert learnt fishing when he was in Class VIII. “I used to go for fishing with my father during my school vacations. As a child, I also received half the amount earned by the other fishermen in our area.
I used the money to buy school uniforms and books. It was a great help for my family.
“I’m proud to be a part of the community that helped the entire Kerala survive the back-to-back floods. The free time activity of fishing inspires me and reminds me of the importance of uplifting my community. Besides, venturing into the sea gives me great physical exercise,” he says.
Albert, who started his career with Malabar Special Police in 1993, has implemented many welfare programmes for the children in the community.
“When I was at Ponnani police station, with the help of CI Sunny Chakko, we started an initiative called ‘Insight’ -- which is now called ‘Theera Souhridam’ -- to educate students in the fishermen community. Under the scheme, we give exam coaching and physical training to the youngsters in the fishermen community to help them get police jobs.”
The coaching classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays. Benefiting from the initiative, four girls from the community recently joined the police department.
“Also, we conduct quiz programmes at schools in the coastal areas to improve the general knowledge among the children. This is aimed at making them capable of cracking the PSC tests.
I want the new generation in the community to enter the government service as I believe it is one of the ways to uplift my community.”
Albert is also fond of farming. He develops vegetable gardens in the free land of police stations where he works.
“I continue with farming activities. I manage many social media groups of farmers. We regularly arrange programmes for the farmers and encourage them to cultivate various crops. We will continue these initiatives till the state becomes self-sufficient in rice and vegetable production,” he says.