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Staff Correspondent
Dibrugarh: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday held a review meeting with the Superintendents of Police of 10 Upper Assam districts at the conference hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, Dibrugarh and took stock of the prevailing law-and-order situation in those districts. While appreciating the role played by Assam Police staying at the frontline in the fight against coronavirus, the Chief Minister urged them to maintain the continuity in the supply chain of essential commodities to minimize hardships of the common people during the extended lockdown period announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi till May 3.
Cautioning against over-activism, Chief Minister Sonowal referred to the recent incident of alleged harassment and manhandling of power department staff by police at Dergaon in Golaghat district and said that this kind of incident must be avoided which might bring bad name to Assam Police and overshadow their good works. Underlining the need for coordination among departments such as Health, Police, PHED, Agriculture and Veterinary, the Chief Minister said that when all departments work in tandem then only a government could carry out activities smoothly and people could be benefitted. Police had a major role in facilitating all other departments in performing their duties effectively while ensuring that strict lockdown was maintained by the people, he said.
Directing the police department to conduct opinion polls on social media to get people’s feedback, Sonowal appreciated Assam Police for reaching out to many people in distress and for helping them with food and medicine. He directed the police department to swiftly act on any requirement of medicine and food, particularly of the elderly citizens, pregnant women and children, during this lockdown period. The Chief Minister also instructed the SPs of Upper Assam districts to monitor tea garden lines and help the tea community people in consultation with line sardars. Directing the police department to take good care of the migrant workers and labourers stranded in Assam from other States, Chief Minister Sonowal said that Assam Government had promised all States that their citizens would be kept safely here and Assam Police must ensure fulfilment of this commitment. He also urged the police to facilitate the vendors supplying essential commodities while also keeping a check on the activities of hoarding and creation of artificial scarcity. There should not be any interruption in the supply of rice and other essential items under PDS so that the poor section of the society does not face any difficulty, he asserted.
Directing the police to issue immediate warnings to those who posts hateful or inciting messages on social media, the Chief Minister underlined the need for maintaining peace and harmony in the society during these difficult times. He also instructed that all Officers in-charge (OCs) of police stations should have a list of ASHA workers working in their areas so that these grassroots health workers did not face any difficulty or harassment due to police action. He also called for ensuring non-interruption in the supply of essential items passing through Assam to the neighbouring States.
Informing that Assam had 32 districts in the list of 750 high-risk districts prepared by Union Health Ministry for coronavirus and which were being monitored by Prime Minister’s Office, the Chief Minister urged the police department to stay prepared for all eventualities. He also directed the police to allow free movement to the small tea growers as the tea industry would be facing huge loss due to the current situation.
Four DIGs of northern, north eastern, eastern and central ranges were also present in the meeting which was attended by SPs of Dibrugarh, Sadia, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Majuli, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Golaghat and Charaideo.