Zero-tolerance on drugs and other illegal activities, nobody will be spared
New Mangaluru Police Commissioner warns Rowdies in an interview with Vartha Bharati
Mangaluru: IPS Officer Dr. Harsha PS, took charge as the new Commissioner of Mangaluru Police on Friday, August 9 after his predecessor Sandeep Patil was transferred to Bengaluru as the Joint Commissioner of city’s crime department.
Having served in the Dakshina Kannada more than a decade back as the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Puttur, Dr. Harsha says he is much familiar with the people of the District and knows how things work in Coastal Karnataka.
Vartha Bharati Sub-editor Ismail Zaorez recently caught up with the incoming officer for an exclusive interview at his office, wherein he spoke on a range of topics and elaborated on his plans as the City's Commissioner of Police.
Excerpts from the interview:
What are your views about Mangaluru?
Mangaluru is one of the most cosmopolitan, globally relevant and fast-growing city of India. It is also a pride of Karnataka with very rich cultural roots. It’s been a hub of education and one of very sound health cities with a history of having accommodated people of all religions and cultures.
What will be your priorities as the Commissioner of Mangaluru City Police?
The priority will be to take policing closer to the people here and to make it people-friendly. We will straightaway work towards strengthening the beat system at the police stations. We will be actively collaborating with various groups of citizens, religious leaders and influencers of the society to pinpoint the problems of citizens and how they can be tackled. Second priority will be zero tolerance about any goondaism which pose a threat to the tranquility of the society. Also, we will deal with any illegal activities strictly. Mangaluru is a fast-growing city, so traffic is also a priority, and we are working on bringing in new methods through which we can regulate seamless and congestion-free traffic in the city.
Traffic and Drugs are two of the biggest problems the city is currently facing. How are you planning to deal with it?
In any developing city where there are students and migrant population, drugs abuse and substance abuse will be there. It causes a lot of inconvenience to the administration and Mangaluru is no different. I have been informed about this problem. We have planned a few programs to deal with it. We will collaborate with individuals and educational institutions and we will continuously work towards uprooting the source and peddlers from the city. There will be zero tolerance in this regard. Those who are involved in peddling and consumption of drugs, they better refrain from such activities, otherwise, we will not spare anybody.
Apart from Drugs and Traffic, Mangaluru also has a tag of being ‘Communally Sensitive’ city. What are your views about it?
Coastal Karnataka has been a house to several cultures and various lifestyles, so I will not call it communally sensitive. It’s a fact that people of various cultures, religions, ethnicity have been staying in this region. If you look at it, Dakshina Kannada has been an ambassador to the communal harmony and co-existence of several cultures, religions and ethnicity. There have been incidents where the communal harmony and peace of the region have been put to test but law enforcement machinery will take very firm legal action against anybody trying to medal with communal harmony. Again, those will be isolated incidents, if you look at bigger picture people here have been co-existing very peacefully over the years. We will work in collaboration with the religious representatives to ensure peace, harmony in the region.
Your message to the people of Mangaluru.
Mangaluru city can be made much more public friendly only when the people will come together with the police department. Policing is an activity that can effectively work when the people are involved and are cooperating with the Police department. So I want to assure people that the department is for people and will come to their aid whenever there is a need. Whatever be the problem the department will be ready to offer any help to the people. The only appeal to the people is to cooperate with us and not sensationalize issues.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
