Bhubaneswar: Even as the state government is endeavouring to implement Mo Sarkar initiative at the police stations, a survey undertaken by a private agency has revealed shocking details related to policing in India.
The survey report titled ‘Status of Policing in India – 2019’ was released by NGO Common Cause-Lokniti-CSDS Thursday. In the report, the NGO claimed that 11,834 police personnel were interviews for the study ‘Police adequacy and working conditions’ across 105 locations in 21 states between February and April this year. The survey also collected the views of the police personnel’s family members.
The survey unravels many interesting aspects of policing in Odisha. According to the report, around 44 per cent of the respondents from Odisha were dissatisfied with their salary, which they dubbed as ‘insufficient’. They also complained of long hours of work – almost 18 hours a day.
About 14 per cent the cops who participated in the survey revealed that politicians often meddled in the investigations, while 39 per cent they sometimes faced political hurdles during the course of investigations.
Similarly, 89 per cent policemen in Odisha complained about lack of freedom in discharging their tasks and they are often subdued by their seniors. In this aspect Odisha comes second to Telengana.
Around 67 per cent police personnel in Odisha revealed that acute shortage of vehicles hampered their mobility while on duty. The shortage of vehicles in Odisha estimated at 29 per cent, which is much higher than the national average.
Odisha Police, which often boast of adopting digital mode of policing, is ranked 13th among all the states and the Union Territory of New Delhi.
