Bhubaneswar: The Student Police Cadet scheme, a nationwide progarmme, will shortly be launched in the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, said new police commissioner Satyajit Mohanty after taking office on Friday.

Mohanty took the charge from Y.B. Khurania at the commissionerate police headquarters in Bhubaneswar.

"We are looking forward to implement the scheme in at least one school each in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack this month," said Mohanty.

The SPC is a school-based youth development initiative that train high-school students respect for the law, discipline, civic sense, resistance to social evils and empathy for vulnerable sections of the society.

The police said the students would learn skills of disaster management, search and rescue operations and firing. Once trained, they students would also assist police in various policing works.

Mohanty, who became the sixth commissioner of the commissionerate police that came in to existence in 2008 also said emphasis would be given to community policing and engagement of youth and students.

"Winning the trust of the people is vital for the police for its smooth functioning. The police will have to work in such a manner that the people will repose their faith and trust and come forward to co-operate," said the IPS officer.

The police commissioner also said the upcoming Hockey world Cup would be among his priorities.

"The World Cup will be held in the next three months and we will try our best to give a pleasant experience to the players, tourists and spectators from the country and abroad," he said.

Mohanty, a 1988-batch IPS officer, was earlier additional director-general of police (provisioning). He has served in various positions including additional director general (law and order) and director of Biju Patnaik State Police Academy.

Outgoing police commissioner Y.B. Khurania wished luck to his successor.

"In the last two-and-a-half years of the senior citizen initiative, the present status of involvement is over 15,000. The senior citizens have been provided with online registration facility. We also started the Student Traffic Volunteers Scheme and a number of students have come forward to join the scheme. We have also placed various proposals before the state government and we hope that those would be sanctioned. The second traffic police station has already been sanctioned and would start functioning shortly," said Khurania.