MHA proposes work from home for policemen not on frontline

Police and paramilitary forces could consider the option of giving 'work from home' for personnel who are are not deployed on the frontline, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the forces have risen in the past few days.

The MHA has also asked states to prepare an "effective second line" of defence to make up for the police personnel who may be rendered ineffective due to COVID-19 infection during the pandemic by deploying home guards, civil defence, NCC cadets and student cadets among others wherever feasible to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

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Issuing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the force to handle the emerging situation, the MHA also said authorities should ensure strict self quarantine rules among personnel.

The CRPF and BSF headquarters were sealed for sanitisation on Sunday and Monday respectively after its personnel working there contracted the virus infection. A 55-year-old CRPF personnel has died while around 150 personnel have been tested positive for COVID-19. At least, 43 in BSF, 13 in SSB and 12 in ITBP have also tested positive besides scores in state police forces.

"To meet the challenge of COVID-19, and to ensure sustainment of control strategy for COVID-19, police forces need to prepare an effective second line of defence to make up for the police personnel who may be rendered ineffective due to COVID-19 infection during the pandemic," Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said in the letter sent on Sunday.

The MHA said the police and paramilitary personnel are among the frontline workers performing duties to implement lockdown orders and government guidelines for containing the spread of the disease and they are more vulnerable to COVID-19 as they have to interact with the public on a daily basis.

"Instances have been noticed of police and security personnel getting infected. Hence, it is imperative to make police personnel aware of the precautions to be taken while performing their assigned tasks in order to ensure that the strategy adopted for containing COVID-19 spread remains sustainable," it said.

The MHA said that police stations and other facilities should be sanitised and personnel should be advised to keep themselves safe by practising proper hygiene and physical distancing. They should be provided with hand sanitisers, soaps, masks, face shield, gloves, safe food, etc. and also train the personnel in their proper usage and disposal.

Home guards, Civil Defence, NCC cadets, Scouts and Guides and Student Police Cadets could be utilised in areas where there are not imminent law and order issues. The MHA suggested that they could be deployed at relief centres and in facilitating the maintenance of supply chain and for coordinating other essential services.

It suggested to police and paramilitary authorities that those personnel who are not on the frontline be given the option of 'work from home' wherever possible.

Police should also be alert about any "unexpected and undesirable mass movement" like migrant workers leaving cities in bulk.

The MHA said the Control Rooms set up by police in states should be expanded, resourced and designed to incorporate special Covid-19 Cells, to exclusively look after all issues relating to the pandemic.