UP: Jhansi police form 'mask force' to spread awareness, drive away coronavirus

LUCKNOW: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Jhansi police in Uttar Pradesh have formed a ‘mask force’ comprising 500 youths from the NCC, NSS and civil defence to spread awareness regarding Covid-19 and also distribute face masks and sanitizers in the villages.
Senior superintendent of police, Jhansi, Dharavath Pradeep Kumar told TOI that a 500 youths from NCC, NSS and civil defence have been roped in and raised up to create mass awareness.
"These youths will be dispatched to villages where the cadets mounted on vans will be distributing pamphlets, masks, explaining the use of Arogya Setu app and Kavach, advantages of maintaining social distancing, not spitting in open and so on,” said Kumar.
The SSP also said that an alternative force was raised as the district police was occupied in managing district borders.
On the other hand, additional superintendent of police, Jhansi, Rahul Srivastava, said that the youths who have been roped in were trained to handle such a situation over three months of rigorous training and conditioning. "The face masks being distributed by them have also been manufactured in the police lines of Jhansi by the women cops of the district," he said.
The youths with loudspeakers mounted on vans will be reaching out to each village under the 26 police stations of the district, he said.