Now the youth of Bhandara – a district in Maharashtra – will work as foot soldiers for the police, bringing them ground information and taking back important messages for their own people.
Under the leadership of Superintendent of Police Lohit Matani, Bhandara Police has launched a programme to close the gap between the public and police, with the help of the local youth. Young people from remote villages are being roped in to work for the purpose of forming a youth forum.
In conversation with Indian Masterminds, the 2014-batch IPS officer explained how this forum will work.
FORUM FOR THE YOUTH
India is a nation with the fastest economic growth and a sizeable youth population. However, there is a worrying tendency that young people are becoming victims of illegal activities. Hence, the Bhandara Police, headed by Mr. Matani, has started involving the youth in productive work in an effort to bring about significant change. This is being done to channelise their energy towards positivity.
The Bhandara Police Youth Forum is an initiative that seeks to connect with the young people of Bhandara (between the ages of 18 and 25) and to provide them with a direction of national and community service. At least five young adults from each village and 10 from each town are to be selected, according to the plan.
To make the plan more effective, they will connect with active NGOs and civil society groups working in the district. “The idea is to make the youths ‘soldiers on the ground’ for giving us useful information and also to publicise the work done by police daily,” Mr. Matani shared with Indian Masterminds.
SOLDIERS OF THE VILLAGE
He further revealed that he and his team have recruited young people from several villages in Bhandara to educate the underprivileged about different government schemes.
In a sense, the young people, also known as the ‘Soldiers of the Village’, will assist the police in bridging the gap between the administration and the public.
TOWARDS SOCIAL AWAKENING
The initiative will include, among other things, activities like getting young people involved in sports, cultural events, and environment-related projects like cleanliness drives. It will also include getting them engaged in eradicating social issues from the community.
“It is being envisaged to bring social reforms in the villages with a joint partnership between police and the young people of the town and villages,” shared the officer.
The officer got the idea to form this group after interacting with the young people of his district. He observed that there was a very low social awakening among the young people, and given a chance, they can play an important role in bringing about certain social changes in their villages.
It is worth noting that the Bhandara Police led by SP Lohit Matani has been involved in a variety of charitable activities in the region. They recently dedicated a playground and a library in the model community of ‘Dongargaon,’ which is located in Tehsil Mohadi. The purpose of these new facilities is to increase the educational quality and skills of the village’s youth. This action is part of a bigger effort to assist more people in leaving the path of ‘social evils’ and becoming active contributors to nation-building.
