Aug 6, 2020: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday inaugurated the newly constructed building of Panbazaar Police Station in the city under Mission for Overall Improvement for Responsive Image (MOITRI) scheme and expressed optimism that the newly built police station would be able to provide more people friendly services with its modernised infrastructure.

Speaking in a meeting held to mark the inauguration of the police station, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that Assam Police is serving the people with sincerity and dedication. They have earned a distinct name for themselves in the country and the police personnel should work to maintain the good image of Assam Police, he said. Sonowal also appreciated the exemplary gesture of police personnel to donate their plasma for the treatment of COVID-19 patients apart from providing dedicated service in fight against the pandemic.

Stressing on the need for the society to appreciate the good works of the police force, Sonowal said that such appreciation and recognition would go a long way in motivating the police personnel to deliver their best services in the face of challenges. He also said that Assam is going through a very difficult phase with problems like COVID-19, flood, erosion, storm, Baghjan oil well fire incident etc. taking place at the same time and he lauded the efforts of the police in managing those challenges.

Underlining the importance of upholding the sanctity of their uniforms, Sonowal warned that the State Government would not tolerate any wrong doing by police personnel and take stern action against those found guilty. He also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a smart police force in the All India DGP Conference which was held in 2015 at Guwahati and highlighted schemes like MOITRI as Assam Government’s initiative to build a smart police force.

Saying that the State Government has taken up the MOITRI Scheme to strengthen infrastructure of the police stations so that it creates better working environment and boosts the morale of the police force, Sonowal stressed on the importance of maintaining human rights by police in performing their duty.

It is to be mentioned that, under MOITRI scheme the state government has taken up initiatives to reconstruct the buildings of the Police Stations and develop infrastructure with improved public amenities. Government of Assam under MOITRI scheme has adopted a visionary programme of reconstructing 346 police stations with a financial outlay of Rs. 2 crore for every police station to be reconstructed and refurbished within 5 years. Till now, 24 police stations have been opened out of 73 numbers of police stations were earmarked for the scheme. 

Offering his tributes to those police personnel who lost their lives in the fight against COVID-19, Sonowal said that Assam Police set a very high standard in delivering public service and they must be appreciated and recognize for that. A smart city needs smart police and through the MOITRI scheme the State Government has launched a modernization drive of the police stations for felicitating a conducive environment for better policing, he said. 

Minister of Guwahati Development Department Siddhartha Bhattacharya, DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta, and Commissioner of Police for Guwahati Munna Prasad Gupta also spoke at the programme which was attended by several other dignitaries.