Shape up or ship out: What’s on the menu for cops in Karnataka
The state reserve police force personnel are being asked to lose that pot belly.
Karantaka Police, known to be one of the more modernised forces in the country, is lagging in one aspect — fitness. Many of the police personnel are not fit for combat and have pot bellies.
The impression a fit cop creates on the public during situations of combat is dramatically different from a pot-bellied cop.
Over 70 per cent of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) have a paunch and are unfit for combat duties during riots and other operations. As many as 7,000 out of 10,000 personnel are either obese or have higher-than-ideal body mass index.
Now, the head of the KSRP has decided to crack the whip on unfit police personnel, and has asked them to reduce body weight and get back in shape.
A circular issued by the Additional Director General of Police, Bhaskar Rao, has said that disciplinary action would be initiated if the police personnel failed to achieve a certain level of fitness.
Most cops, when on standby duty, end up drinking, smoking and consuming a high-carbohydrate diet, which results in pot bellies and lifestyle diseases. Over 100 personnel have been reported dead in the last one year in Karnataka due to diabetes and heart attack.
As part of the bid to get fitter, the cops will now eat millets like jowar and ragi, and give up biryani and liquor. They are being counselled to quit smoking and alcoholism, and are being introduced to yoga and swimming.
The families of police personnel have given a big thumbs-up to the initiative, as they feel their kin will now remain fit and live longer.
This fitness drive should proceed top down — from the Director general of Police to an inspector, everyone should be fit and healthy on police duty.
What happens in the department is that senior officers become the culprit in not following a strict diet, and developing a paunch. There have been instances where an ADGP-rank officer has a pot belly, which leads to subordinates too slipping up and not maintaining a strict diet.
Since the Reserve Police are comparatively free and have more time on their hands, the department needs to be more proactive in keeping them fit. These personnel are on standby duty most of the times, either in their campuses or base. In this period, they smoke, drink and consume a high-calorie diet.
The lack of knowledge about the damage a high-carb diet and junk food can do to their bodies is another reason for their poor fitness levels.
While the department’s latest drive can bring in quick results, at the end of the day, the onus to keep himself fit for combat duty falls on the individual officer. Hopefully, the police will now police their own weight.