Lucknow: From monitoring bloating waistlines to logging on to Facebook to leveraging the benefits of IT, the 125,000-strong Uttar Pradesh Police, hitherto infamous for its acts of omission rather than commission, is attempting a complete makeover - on orders from the top.
Senior officers have been asked to not only get their "act together" in the wake of a poor law and order situation but to also ensure that the change in behaviour - a more pro-people one - is for all to see in the nation's most populous state of nearly 200 million people.
Admitting that there was "still a lot of roughness at the chowki levels", Uttar Pradesh police chief AC Sharma said since the lower levels of the constabulary were the face of the entire force, they are being trained and groomed into being "better and more effective policemen".
"The situation at my office and at the chief minister's janta durbar is mind-boggling. We are disappointed that such a large number of complaints has to come to Lucknow which ideally should have been resolved at the lowest level or the zonal level," A.C. Sharma told IANS, adding that the state police's establishment department, akin to the HR department of the corporate world, has been asked to "hammer out the chinks at the bottlenecks"....
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08:47 AM, Jun 24, 2012
