UP’s law and order has become a model for country: Yogi

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that the ‘image’ of Uttar Pradesh has completely transformed and the state’s law and order has become a ‘model’ for the rest of the country and the world.

He said, “Today, when we speak about rule of law, the ‘UP model’ does come to mind. UP has set an example in front of the country in establishing law and order. The biggest challenge, however, is to move away from the methods of British Police and create a different image of UP Police. The policemen must show sensitivity towards common people.”

The CM was addressing the police personnel after inaugurating virtually 144 residential and non-residential buildings, including hostels, barracks, police stations and outposts, built at the cost of Rs 260 crore for the Police Department at an event organised in Lok Bhawan.

Yogi said, “Five years back, UP was considered a sick state. There was no attention on the development and the law and order situation was worse. There was a sense of insecurity among businessmen, women, farmers and labourers in the state.”

He said that after taking the charge of the state on March 19, 2017, the first thing he did was to inspect the Home Department on March 20, adding that he was baffled to see the mismanagement prevailing in the department.

He said, “There was also a lack of police personnel in the state as 54 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) had been disbanded. At that crucial juncture, we recruited more than 1.62 lakh policemen maintaining utmost transparency. The capacity of the training centers has been enhanced and steps have also been taken to modernise the police force.”

Stressing the need to keep up with the pace of the world, the CM insisted on constituting the world’s largest police force in UP. “We are constantly making efforts towards modernisation of the police force in the state. Cyber labs have been established in 18 zonal headquarters for the first time. Efforts were made to set up forensic science labs. Today, the number of FSLs has gone up from 4 to 12. In addition, a Special Security Force has been constituted,” he said.

The CM said that four battalions of Anti Terror Squad (ATS) were raised while three women battalions were formed in the state and three battalions of SDRF were also raised. “Meanwhile, Project of safety and CCTN were implemented in the state,” he said.

Lauding the efforts of the UP Police, the CM said that for the first time in the history of the country, law and order became an issue in the elections. He said that the government got public support and votes due to better law and order.

Highlighting that the state has become a top destination for investors, Yogi said that UP has received investments worth Rs 4 lakh crore due to the improved law and order situation. “The state has also set an example before the country by removing unnecessary loudspeakers installed at religious sites, or reducing their volumes across the state quietly with harmony,” he said.

The CM said that the police had also shut down illegal bus and taxi stands running in the state and people felt much safer and fearless in the state now while on the contrary, criminals are panicky.

Maintaining that for the first time any government focused on providing infrastructure facilities to the Police Department, the CM said, “There were no barracks earlier. I did a surprise inspection of the Lucknow Police Lines and noticed there were no barracks. The living conditions for the personnel were very poor. So, to strengthen the policing system and provide better living conditions for police personnel, in a meeting with the Home Department, a fund of Rs 6000 crore was allocated immediately for the department to improve its infrastructure facilities.”

The CM asserted that they will be successful in modernising the UP police. “Construction of new buildings, barracks, police stations and hostels will not only strengthen the policing system, but also be beneficial to police personnel and improve their living conditions. It is part of the modernisation drive for our police force,” he said.

Yogi said, “Technology is necessary, but with technology our sensitivity towards humans should not disappear. We should not remain imprisoned in technology. Colonial methods in terms of infrastructure and uniform still dominate the Indian Police. We must work towards changing the image of UP Police.”

Mentioning his recent interaction with the CBSE board topper from Shamli, he said, “Even such a young girl praised the law and order situation in the state and said that girls are no more afraid of leaving their homes after the sunset.”

Yogi said that the biggest challenge in front of the young generation is drug addiction. Now a massive campaign is being run against drug dealers because it is a crime against the nation. “We have the most passionate youth of the country and it is our duty to protect the future of our country,” he said.

UNI