It was one call of duty that they failed miserably to meet with. Several policemen across stations in the city had to run for cover this Sunday after they were caught red handed by the Deputy Police Commissioner, Harisankar, for not reporting at their respective offices on time.
Several officers who arrived late were shocked to find ‘absent’ marked against their names in the duty register. The drive was part of an attempt by the top brass to get the force active right from the time the city comes alive.
“An examination of their duty registers indicates that each and every police officer in the city has been reporting for duty at 8 a.m. since the past five years. Hence, we are only asking them only to maintain the status quo,” said a top police official, adding that the direction to report for duty by 8 a.m. is part of the police standing order.
Meanwhile, the new move is being regarded by some policemen as an effective extension of their working hours by another hour. They hold the view that the extended hours come on the back of limited staff.
According to them, this will take a toll on those officers, who come to the city from moffusil places of Ernakulam as well as the neighbouring districts of Alappuzha and Thrissur. “Besides, those who are keen on policemen reporting for duty on time appear least interested in when they return home after a day’s duty,” they point out.
Keeping an eye
on cameras
It looks as if a few more CCTV cameras would have to be installed at the District Collectorate to ensure that the existing ones are in good shape!
For, employees here recently sported one of the several surveillance cameras installed outside the collectorate building in the wake of the 2009 blasts lying on the ground. While steps are on to restore its operation at the earliest, the incident has turned focus to a larger issue attached to the CCTV surveillance network here.
According to sources, several of the cameras here are not operational for want of periodical maintenance.
Besides, the footage available from the rest is not kept track of.
“The fact that the camera was lying on the ground for a couple of days raises a suspicion that the much touted security network here has crippled down. Hopefully, District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam, who is known for his love for CCTV cameras, is taking note of it,” said an employee while taking a dig at the recent installation of about 40 cameras at different sections of the district headquarters amid protests by the employees.
Hiran Unnikrishnan
