Going the extra mile in the ‘interest of the country’

Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation announcement on November 8, constable Nilesh Jha has been leaving his house an hour earlier than he is supposed to report for duty.

Doing his bit

A part of the Home Guards, he has volunteered to help control the commotion and calm tempers in queues outside ATMs located near his point of duty at east Delhi’s Karkardooma.

From offering updates to people about the amount of cash they can withdraw from an ATM or exchange at a bank, Mr. Jha does his best to diffuse verbal disagreements over the Centre’s demonetisation move from snowballing into confrontations.

“I believe it is a bold and significant step towards destroying the menace of black money. There has been slight inconvenience for everyone since the announcement, but it is in the best interests of the country,” he said.

Assisting traffic cops

After volunteering for an hour, Mr. Jha, who assists the traffic police between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day, makes it a point to report for duty like clockwork, which involves a day of helping confused commuters with directions to the closest bank. All this alongside his official brief of assisting the traffic police personnel he is assigned to.

Panic and confusion

“There was a lot of confusion and panic about the amount one could withdraw, which I witnessed first-hand while waiting in a queue a day after the announcement. People were angry and distressed,” Mr. Jha recalled.

“Since I didn’t have much money in my account, I wondered when I would find myself in a similar line again. That is when I realised that I don’t need to be in a queue to help distressed people. I then decided to leave home early to be able to volunteer before my duty,” he said while adding that “every small smile, every little bit of information to the illiterate and ill-informed helps. I have experienced it.”

Every small smile, every little bit of information to the illiterate and

ill-informed helps. I have experienced it