To reduce work pressure for women police constables across the state, the Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Pandey on Friday reduced their duty hours to eight from the earlier 12-hour shift. The move will help them to balance their professional and personal lives, police sources said. Their duty hours may be increased only in exceptional situations such as festivals, events or during a crisis.
The initiative was first implemented in Pune, Nagpur, Amravati and Navi Mumbai on pilot basis from August 28. In a few days, the latest duty schedule will be implemented in other cities and districts, too.
Nagpur city police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said women have professional as well as domestic commitments. He said, “Keeping that in view, and to ensure that they are able to strike a balance, we had decided to implement the eight-hour duty schedule on experimental basis and it really worked out well.” He added that efficiency has increased and constables are now much more motivated. “During this one month, we did not face staff crunch due to this plan,” he added.
Earlier in Mumbai, former police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar had successfully implemented the eight-hour shifts for all constabulary staff. However, it was discontinued owing to manpower crisis.
