Cops to greet visitors at police stations with a 'hello' and 'namaste'

File photo

The traditional Indian greeting is all set to gain popularity thanks to the coronavirus scare.

The Mumbai police have decided to implement the mode of greeting instead of shaking hands every time visitors come to the police station. The commissioner's office has recently issued a circular to all police stations to welcome people with a namaste instead of handshakes.

"This is part of the awareness campaign within the force for all those who interact with people throughout the day, especially staff at police stations and traffic police personnel," said Pranay Ashok, Mumbai Police spokesperson.

Each police station has a welcome desk at the entrance of police stations where visitors are attended to first and then diverted to the department concerned.
"Visitors shakes hands with officers either at the time of introducing themselves or while leaving. It is necessary to alert our people after the recent virus scare, and hence the department has come up with this initiative," an officer from the western suburbs said.

Recently, the police distributed 6,000 face masks among the force and they have been instructed about all safety norms issued by the World Health Organisation. "We already had a stock of 9,000 masks, and 6,000 of those were distributed to the staff who work on the ground," Ashok added.

According to the Mumbai Police, there 94 police stations in Mumbai and every police station has at least 100 visitors daily.

A Mumbai Police official said, "Lots of people visit police stations and it is hard to tell if they are carrying the virus. In such a situation, namaste is the best mode of greeting."

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