GBE’s Diwali Gift to Police

Top police officials hailed it as a rare gesture that was bound to be a morale booster as Ganv Bhavancho Ekvott not only painted the police outpost at Chandor but also provided some basic amenities to the police personnel posted there.
GBE painted the entire façade of the outpost with the yellow and white paint of the erstwhile Portuguese regime and also offered five mattresses and pillows along with one water filter to the staff. The two ceiling fans that are not working will be replaced shortly.
The entire cost of painting the outpost that was Rs 18,000, cost of the mattresses and pillows which was Rs. 20,000, the water filter that was purchased for Rs. 1,700 and Rs. 4000 for the fans was paid by John Douglas Coutinho.
“It is for the first time in my 28 year career in the police department that I am witnesses an incident where the people are doing something for the police personnel,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Raju Raut Dessai while urging the police personnel to respect the good deed.
Hailing from the neighbouring Assolda village he said the outpost that he used to see every day while going to college by train from the next door railway station, inspired him to join the police force.
He gave some tips to the police on dealing with common problems that occur in villages and asked the police to take regular rounds of their area particularly in the night so that nefarious activities are curbed.
“Police personnel are also human beings and just as we want good working conditions, we felt it necessary to improve the conditions in which they work and hence did what little we could,” said GBE General Secretary Alzira Pereira who thanked the organisation’s member who sponsored the entire exercise as a Diwali gift to the police personnel.
Superintendent of Police Arvind Gawas also appreciated the gesture. “This is a real morale booster as the people have done something for the police. Otherwise police are generally criticized and not appreciated,” he said.