BHUBANESWAR: Ahead of Rath Yatra, Puri police on Thursday formed a brigade of local volunteers, namely Yuva Shakti, to assist police in rendering different public services to devotees.
At least 50 youngsters from seven localities — Dolamandap Sahi, Kundheibenta Sahi, Kalikadevi Sahi, Balisahi, Goudabada Sahi, Harchandi Sahi and Markandeswar Sahi — have been enrolled in the Yuva Shakti team.
While they will be engaged to assist Puri police in different activities round the year, their first and immediate task is to render assistance to the elderly and differently-abled devotees during the nine-day Rath Yatra, starting June 20. The Yuva Shakti volunteers will help the elderly to negotiate the crowd and facilitate their darshan of the deities on the chariot. They will also be mobilised in streets, connecting Grand Road where the chariots would be tugged by devotees, to control crowd and regulate traffic.
As the volunteers are also well known to the sevayats, they will help our personnel in free and unhindered movement of the sevayats during Debasnan Purnima and Rath Yatra. “They will be deployed at strategic locations along with sufficient police personnel. Involvement of the local community would augment the public service delivery in a professional way,” said superintendent of police (Puri) Kanwar Vishal Singh after launching the Yuva Shakti initiative.
The volunteers will be properly trained and sensitised by Puri police on discipline, good conduct and behaviour aspects. Their specific duties would be decided after proper sensitisation. They have been provided with uniform and identity cards.
"We have inducted them as Yuva Shakti volunteers after verifying their antecedents. Keeping in view their support in the upcoming Rath Yatra, we have selected a motto for the Yuva Shakti- Ama Sahi Ama Yatra Ama Seva (our colony, ama festival and our service). We will take feedback from people and further improve our people-friendly services like this," the SP said.
Singh said Matru Shakti initiative launched in September last year to curb drug menace in Puri has paid dividends. Several local women are volunteers of Matru Shakti and have been acting as whistle-blowers against drug trafficking in their areas.
