Dhenkanal: It has been just a few days since Anupama James, lovingly called as the lady ‘Singham’ took charge as Dhenkanal superintendent of police (SP). A 2013 IPS officer, Anupama started her career as Deputy Police Commissioner at Bhubaneswar Commissionerate of Police.
Then she was entrusted with the charge of Deogarh’s SP before taking charge as Dhenkanal’s SP. In a tete-e-tete with this reporter, she dwelt upon how she takes on challenges in life. Excerpts of an interview:
Orissa POST: What is it like to be an IPS officer?
Anupama James: My parents wished me to be an IAS officer. Due to shortage of a few marks, I joined IPS. My first posting was at Bhubaneswar Commissionerate of Police. My next posting was as Deogarh SP and now in Dhenkanal.
OP: How do you prepare yourself to face challenges while discharging duties?
AJ: Solving problems is synonymous with our job. In my opinion, if one works with all sincerity and honesty, problems hardly come. Hurdles will disappear on their own and difficult tasks will gradually seem getting easier.
OP: As a woman, how do you find a police job?
AJ: Now-a-days, girls stand equal with boys. If I am asked for my suggestions on girls joining police department, I will say they should come in more numbers. In my case, I did rural management after BSc (Agriculture). I would have been in social service sector, had I not made it to IPS. However, I am happy with my job.
OP: How do you love to spend your leisure time?
AJ: The kind of our job is such that we hardly get leisure. The least leisure I get, I love to spend it with my family members. If I have more time to spare, I devote it to listening to old Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam film songs. I love to watch classic Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali and Odia movies. Reading and travelling are two of my other hobbies.
OP: How do you find Dhenkanal?
AJ: During this short period since my joining, I directly got myself involved in maintaining law and order situation at famous ‘Magha Mela’ at Joranda and ‘Jagar’ festival at Kapilas. Both the festivals passed off without hitches. The people here are cooperative and well behaved. My aim is to make the district crime-free and for this I need people’s cooperation.
OP: Any suggestion for younger generations out there?
AJ: Work hard and aim high. Be sincere and honest, things will fall in place by itself, she concludes.
PNN
