Move over lathi...

THE SPECIALLY made plastic lathis have given way to crowbars and spades. The riot gear found its rightful place at the back of the patrol vehicles. The safari suits have given way to casuals and the scowl on the face to smiles. The `field' expertise in crowd control came handy in clearing the thorny bushes.

At the end of the voluntary assignment, the personnel of the city task force are not tired but elated. For it was not the unpleasant job of bundling the agitators into vans or dispersing the crowds. But the most `unpoliceman' like assignment, that of clearing the weeds and bushes in Erram Manzil colony.

It all began with the task force officers noticing that the surroundings in Erram Manzil officers colony was untidy with lots and lots of shrubs. When the officers led by S. Md. Iqbal began cleaning the colony, many people were skeptical. But as the determined cops began clearing the shrubs, locality people took interest and some volunteered to help. But the 30-odd member team looking after the east and north zones took the job seriously spending their leisure hours for their kind of `shramdan'.

Within three weeks, the face of the colony changed as lorryloads of rubbish was transported out. The cleaning of the park alone generated four loads of rubbish. As the work went on watched by curious onlookers, two students of the Government High School mustered their courage and approached the cops with a strange request. "Why can't they clean the school premises also?" The cops, though tired, took up that responsibility also and now the school presents a clean look.

Noticing that there were practically no sports facilities, three cops pooled Rs. 4,000 and bought sports kits. "We should not wait for the Government to act. If only we can spend some time, we can work wonders", says Iqbal who had a long stint as the personal security officer of the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu. But will the cops' preoccupation with cleanliness be a boon for the rowdy elements? "No way. We are doing this work during our spare time", the cops assert in unison.

By K. Srinivas Reddy

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Section  : Southern States
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