The 2018 batch IPS officer from Gujarat Cadre, Mr Hasan Safin, has only been in the service for two years but has already achieved so much for his people and his hometown. Obviously, the statement `maturity comes with age’ does not hold true for Mr Safin, which we at Indian Masterminds realized during the course of an extensive interaction with him.
PROJECT `NIRMAAN’
Currently posted as the Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr. Safin had been working for the poor and needy since he was in NIT, Surat from 2016-2019. During this time, he opened an NGO called Project Nirmaan which was dedicated to the children of slum areas.
“We used to go into the slums on weekend, teach them basics and provided them with necessary facilities. We formed a kind of bridge between parents, teachers, and children.”
The NGO consisted of a team of about 100 people who targeted more than 400 children. “Being in civil services, this is what we do but even prior to being its part, I enjoyed working for and helping our poor brothers. This made my conviction of getting into civil services, stronger” he told Indian Masterminds.
DIVINE TALENT FOUNDATION
Mr. Safin opened another NGO by the name of Divine Talent Foundation in his village, Kanodar in Banaskantha district, Gujarat. The NGO focused on the creativity and talent of the children residing in slum areas, who are extremely talented but do not have enough resources or the right kind of guidance to sharpen their talent.
“During summer vacations, we used to give coaching and training to the children in the village in whatever field they wanted to groom themselves into, whether it was dancing, singing, painting, etc. and once the training was complete, we used to organize big programs where they could show case their talents and receive the appreciation that they deserved” stated Mr. Safin.
Such functions not only made the parents really happy seeing their kids perform on the stage but also increased the level of confidence in the little ones.
DEVELOPING APPS DURING COVID
As soon as Mr. Safin entered the service, the first and biggest challenge he came across was the ongoing Corona Virus, but he considers himself lucky to be in the first batch of trainee officers who actually came across Covid during the training time itself.
During his tenure as the Assistant Superintendent of Police, District Jamnagar, under the guidance of the Superintendent of Police, he developed an application for monitoring people that were quarantined in their home by the name of ‘Jamnagar Police Alert Citizen’ which helps the administration in keeping a watchful eye on the people who are asked to quarantine or isolate themselves in their homes.
“The app also urged the people to strictly abide by the lockdown and take all the necessary precautions to curb the spread of virus in the district” Mr. Safin told Indian Masterminds.
Another application that was developed by the district police under the guidance of Mr. Safin and the Superintendent of Police, was ‘Jan Sarthi Application’ which was an all-in-one app where the citizens could report violation of lockdown, migration of laborers, ask for emergency help and request for doorstep services and deliveries of necessary items.
PROTECTING INDUSTRIAL SECURITY IN BHAVNAGAR
Mr. Safin has only spent two months in Bhavnagar and is still trying to understand the working of system in the district by focusing on a few major problems persisting in the region.
“Bhavnagar is an industrial town and one of the major issues is about industrial security in the place. Our focus is to provide a secure environment to the businessmen and industrialists in the region. Being in police, we get the opportunity to help someone who is in complete distress. When they come to you, you are in a position to solve their biggest problems in a few minutes” he exclaimed.
JUMPING ALL HURDLES TO CLEAR UPSC
Belonging to a lower middle-class family, Mr. Safin had to face a lot of financial issues while preparing for UPSC. And to top it all, he met with an accident while on his way to give the examination. But he stood up, overcame his pain and went on to give the exam. Not only that, he fell seriously ill, suffering from throat infection and urine infection simultaneously, a month prior to his interview and got released only a week before the crucial day. But even after facing so many challenges, Mr. Safin went on to score the second highest rank in the entire country.
Mr Safin considers his journey to be wonderful and feels lucky enough to go out and about and help people who are genuinely in need. Being there for others and pulling them out of distress is something that makes his heart fill with joy!