Pics: Joshwa D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JD)

Mangaluru, Dec 10: Putting the spotlight on the shortage of police personnel in Dakshina Kannada, superintendent of police Dr Sharanappa on Thursday December 10 said that there were only 55 police personnel for every one lac population in the district, which has made it difficult to maintain law and order here.

He was interacting with students from various colleges during the 'Maanvatha Milan' youth workshop and fest held at Sahodaya hall here.

During the interaction, he asked the students to narrate the good and bad exeriences they faced pertaining to police or law and order.

While a few appreciated the tireless work of the police, a few criticized the police for various reasons. Summing it up with all the feedback he recieved, Sharanappa said, "We are trying to make the police stations citizen-friendly. We have upgraded the various police stations and we train police personnel to be courteous on regular basis. We are also trying for ISO certification."

He further said, "Not even a single case of immoral rowdyism has been reported in the district, except in the commissionerate limits. Still we get to hear a lot of criticism about the police force. As per United Nations standards there should be 850 police personnel per lac population. In Karnataka it is 130, while in Dakshina Kannada it is only 55. How can we handle such a huge population in the communally sensitive district with such a small force?" he questioned.

"It is the youth of the district who must learnt to live in harmony because most of the arrested in immoral rowdyism cases are in the age group 18-30. How can you expect another person to respect you when you don't respect him? It is easy to preach but difficult to practice," he added.

Later in the evening entrepreneur from Dubai Lara Mattossian-Roberts (founder and CEO of Sci-fest, Dubai) addressed the youth during the culmination of the event. Vidya Dinkar and others also graced the occasion.