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| Chief minister Nitish Kumar at the event in Patna on Friday. Picture by Deepak Kumar |
Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday asked police officers to maintain extra vigil during the forthcoming festivals and brace for natural calamities.
Speaking after the inauguration of 13 newly constructed police buildings and the launch of the criminal investigation department’s weaker section website, Nitish said disgruntled elements were trying to spread hatred in the society to suit their vested interests.
“Be careful, you may have to face difficult times during the forthcoming festivals. Some elements are trying to vitiate the atmosphere and create tension in the society. You have to work hard to deal with such elements in the days to come,” Nitish said, while making a special reference to the challenges before the police.
Nitish clarified that the police’s role has increased manifold in the present scenario. Referring to the state government’s decision to declare 33 of the 38 districts as drought-hit, Nitish said the decision about the remaining five districts would be taken after going through the rain recorded during Hathia Nakshatra.
Nakshatra is the time span in which Hindi months are divided. Hathia Nakshatra is the last one in which monsoon rain occurs. “The level of water would dip in absence of enough rain and may lead to a chaotic situation in many parts. The police personnel would have to play an important role then,” he added.
He asked the state home guards and fire services director-general A.S. Nimbran to brace for incidents of fire. “Fires are bound to increase in summer. I think the department should start preparations at the appropriate time to deal with those,” he said.
Nitish asked home department principal secretary Amir Subhani to submit a proposal for building police barracks in the districts, especially for women police personnel. “Numbers would rise owing to 33 per cent reservation to women in the state police force,” he said. Subhani, director-general of police (DGP) Abhayanand and additional DGP-cum-chief managing director of Bihar Police Building Construction Corporation Sunil Kumar were present on the occasion.