Meghalaya: Fewer road accidents reported in Ri-Bhoi after joint police-VDP campaign

CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: The Ri-Bhoi Police have intensified their efforts to make policing more community-driven by involving Village Defence Parties (VDPs) in ongoing enforcement and traffic safety drives across the district. The initiative, led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vivekanand Singh Rathore, aims to transform local volunteers into the “eyes and ears” of law enforcement, helping curb crimes, prevent accidents, and ensure safer villages.

Speaking about the collaboration, SSP Rathore said that the police are working to constitute VDPs in all 650–700 villages of the district, with each comprising 15 to 20 members. “That brings the count to around 10 to 12 thousand persons who will actually become our eyes and ears,” he said.

Rathore highlighted that the initiative is also aimed at preventing crimes such as kidnapping, missing children, and assaults. “If you have these VDP friends in every village, it becomes a strong mechanism to prevent crimes in future,” he noted, adding that the state government is considering providing equipment and monetary allowances to boost the morale of VDP members.

The police plan to assign five to ten households under the watch of each VDP member to enhance community vigilance and early reporting of issues such as harassment or stalking. “These small issues often go unreported, but with VDPs, that information will reach us,” Rathore said.

He also reported encouraging results from the ongoing traffic safety campaign, which has been running for the past few weeks with active VDP participation. “People have been very supportive of this drive, and in the last two weeks, we have hardly seen any accidents happening on the roads,” the SSP added.

On the night of October 16, under the leadership of SSP Rathore and Additional SP Orville Massar, along with the Nongpoh Traffic Police, a special vehicle inspection drive was conducted at the Quinine area along National Highway-6. The operation, which saw active participation from VDP members of Quinine village, marked a new phase of community-police partnership.

During the drive, several violators were penalised for offences including drunk driving, use of high-beam LED lights, and illegal parking. Fines amounting to approximately ?2.65 lakh were collected in a single night.

Officials said that the continuous enforcement and awareness efforts, supported by the VDPs, have led to a visible reduction in traffic accidents and greater public cooperation across Ri-Bhoi district.

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