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| Role of police in providence to public | | | Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
The basic amenities of life which are serviced and provided by Government like water, subsidized ration, Gas, K.Oil and power are required to be supplied on timely and regular basis. These services are so important that their providence can make a Government and politician's favorite among the masses and their unavailability; delay; tariff rise or curtailment of subsidy can spell death-knell to the Government/ Politicians.
These services have remained associated with the Government and public at large always resort to abusing the Government machinery by protests; rallies and even arson if the response is delayed. This sentiment is always a grist to the grind mill for those out of power and for those who have their interests associated with the arousal of people wrath against the Administration. The Government machinery responsible for providing these different services and different departments associated with providing different goods and services to the public have a feeling of a common Government service class. They like any other Government servant feel that their efficiency or inefficiency is not accounted for in the form of rewards and punishments. They don't have fear of being punished for their indolence, lethargy, or for even non-compliance neither have they any attraction towards rewards associated with good work which should have been in place. They take public literary on ride because there is no quantification and qualification of the performance of Government functionary. These departments are a problem rather than solution for deliverance of service to the public although as; compared to individual organizations who work as private enterprises, these Government departments have a heavy and well-paid staff with all the benefits like promotions, salary revision and pensionery benefits besides other perks.
The malaise in these Government departments gets more confounded when the politicians especially those in power are made in charge as Ministers. The Ministers place the persons who behave like their own stooges on important positions and thereby in return get the discriminatory services from these Officers. The discriminatory services are aimed at delivering the services only to target groups or individuals who in-turn are associated with their parties or are their vote banks The worst case scenario is, in which the politicians indulge in corruption practices in league with these Government Officers. In such an arrangement a middleman in the form of agent, lessee; Contractor usually related to the politicians is given the supplies or goods apparently to facilitate the public but often to usurps, divert ,adulterate , pilfer these services, goods and the proceeds thereof in the form of kickbacks are received by the politicians and those employed in these Departments.
Therefore the public gets services/goods which are of poor quality as per the whims and caprices of the politicians/ government officials and thus resentment brews and grows among the public. The response is either to pay more as bribe for quick disposal or to knock at the doors of the politicians who becomes either provider or clamours for providence thereby getting allegiance in return for his efforts in the form of a dedicated vote bank and thus the public is getting fleeced and flayed to their skins.
As for those groups among the public who do not ally with the politics/ politicians because of their nature or because of their belief in hopelessness; they come to streets and protest. The moderates among them use peaceful means like writing in papers; speaking to controlling officers like secretariat people or sit on dharnas etc. But, for those who want quick response traffic blockade and sloganeering in the favorite recourse.
The Downtown area of Kashmir has always witnessed the protest from the last category of people among those described in previous para. The government machinery and administration has to cut the humble pie when these street protests and sloganeering comes out in the form of invectives against India. The response as such takes ugly turn and the situation becomes justified for those who deal with it as just a law & order problem and a patriotic fervor gets filled for and against India with security forces and public doing their part with conviction and both getting entangled against such other as sworn foes with police considering the public as anti Indian and public considering police as a devilish face of those who have usurped their genuine civil/ human rights. Resultantly the politicians/ government departments get-away with the booty and escape genuine scrutiny.
This fact needs to be understood if the ill-will prevalent among the masses especially for those living in the Down area of Kashmir is to be get rid of. As an example, I would like to quote my recent experience with those protesting against Power Development Department (PDD) for supplying a damaged transformer. On the day the residents of a particular Mohalla had blocked traffic near Nowshara in old city . When I was on way to Ganderbal , I found that traffic being blocked and obstructions being placed on the road so that no traffic from either direction would ply. However, on seeing my vehicle and after negotiations they let my vehicles to pass. Afterwards the local SHO took stock of the situation. The SHO concerned tried to convince the locals that their problem will be discussed with the concerned department but they were not convinced and I finally called few respactables among them for talks in the police station Soura. These representatives justified their action as the only recourse to register their protest and to quick disposal of their grievances. For them the patience had given way and there remained no-option but to come on streets.
Having heard their part I started my part by telling them that their action was not warranted because;
nThey have no right to block the road that belonged to all including them and put others who are only their brothers to inconvenience just because Power Development Department (PDD) had made them inconvenient.
They were putting some commuters who had to unnecessary take longer routes at loss because they have to consume more gas and more time to reach their destination.
They had used a wrong choice for registering protest by using routine methods when some innovative and attractive methods like sitting on protests and raising banner against PDD could be used. These methods would put nobody to inconvenience and at the same time we could have been saved from coming on scene when some other department was responsible.
They could have talked to media and brought them to record their take on the issue.
They could have brought lanterns like fog lamps and hurricane lamps as a symbol of their plight when electricity is off and made a lampoon of Power Development Department (PDD).
They could have even gone to press enclave or Pratap Park for protesting just like Jantar Mantar is made for such activity in Delhi. We could also create space for such genuine protests.
They must also understand the problems faced by Power Development Department (PDD) and why such power crises happen during winter hours. The counselling as such had its effect and I was astonished how these locals acquiesced with my opinion and went back with clear heart and of their own opened the road and went for their homes.
Actually the public needs counselling and proper vent for their grievances and mundane things must never be made as a reason for clamouring for Kashmir sentiment. Sensitivity lies in stratifying the grievances and exposing the causative rather than generalizing the things as law & order issue. |
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