Prayagraj: Use whistles not lathis to man crowds, greet visitors respectfully, Magh Mela cops told

PRAYAGRAJ: Elderly women and men visiting Magh Mela in Prayagraj this year would be greeted by cops on duty as ‘mataji’ and ‘tauji’ or ‘chachaji’ respectively, while the younger devotees would be addressed as ‘behenji’ and ‘bhaiji’. The stress on respectful greetings are a part of a training in communication skills that cops being posted on Magh Mela are undergoing.
The 57-day Magh Mela will commence from January 14.
The police department is conducting training sessions on communication skills for policemen arriving for Magh Mela duties. These cops are being trained in areas like body language, language skills & behaviour, pronunciation, managing crowds through whistle blowing and not using lathis, and traffic management.
Around 4,000 cops, including paramilitary personnel, are expected to be posted on the Magh Mela ground.
IG (Prayagraj range) KP Singh said policemen with a good character and language skills will be deployed for Magh Mela. “They will be trained in communication skills and be treating Mela visitors respectfully by referring to them as ‘bhaiji’, ‘chachaji’, ‘tauji’, ‘mataji’ and ‘behenji’.
“We have focussed more on communication skills and cops have been asked to respect all visitors. Policemen on duty have been asked to maintain their body language, behaviour and not issue any sort of statement. They have been asked to use soft and respectful language, so that they could leave a lasting impression on visitors coming from different parts of the country. When a visitor interacts with a policeman on duty during the Mela, he/she must feel an affinity and empathy. They have been asked to deal with visitors patiently,” said the IG.
Cops have been asked to manage the crowd on main snan days through whistle-blowing and avoid the use of lathis to guide the visitors.