Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Festivals stretch police resources

G. Anand

Thiruvananthapuram: The resources of the district police have been stretched thin owing to the ongoing temple festival season. The round-the-clock deployment of policemen for festival duty has to an extend affected routine tasks such as petition enquiry, night patrolling, case investigation and collection of information on criminal activities, according to department sources.

Superintendent of Police, Rural, S. Gopinathan, says that there at least eight temple festivals every day that warrant deployment of policemen and women constables in considerable numbers. The police are also required to escort festival processions that start in the evening and continue till the early hours of the subsequent day. "We are not complaining. Families turn out in large numbers for festivals and for the police it is a public service," he says.

Mr. Gopinathan says that cinematic dances and ganamelas are resulting in drunken brawls at the venues of religious festivals. There have been instances where police intervention was required to restore peace at festival venues. Petty crimes such as purse lifting, chain snatching and illicit sale of liquor are commonly reported from festival areas.

The district police are serious about enforcing the Government order that loudspeakers should not be engaged after 10 p.m. The violation of the order restricting the use of loudspeakers could invite a fine of Rs.1 lakh or imprisonment up to five years. The police have also told festival organisers that they should get the permission of the additional district magistrate for stocking and exploding crackers. The festival organisers should ensure the presence of the veterinary doctors equipped with tranquilizers before taking out processions with elephants. The police would test whether the mahout is drunk. It should be ensured that the elephant is not in mast and is properly fed.

The public could complaint to the police if any person or group demands money for conducting local festivals. Power theft is also rampant at festival venues in the rural district. The stolen power is mostly used for illumination. A KSEB anti-power theft squad official said the unit would be cracking down on power theft at festival venues.

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