The clanging of cymbals and drums on Friday morning, take people standing at an arterial junction in Konavattam in Vellore district by surprise. They turn around, to see a group of men clad in red and black, playing instruments.
The men are members of the police band, attached to the Vellore Armed Reserve Police unit, and have been roped in to create awareness about COVID-19 at important junctions in the district.
“Many people return from different districts and they don’t inform us. The main aim of using the band is to create awareness that they should voluntarily come forward and get tested,” said Pravesh Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Vellore.
Once their attention is drawn by the playing of the band, a police officer speaks on a microphone to members of the public, and creates awareness about COVID-19. At each place, they spend close to an hour. “We stress on the importance of notifying authorities about people who have recently come into the district, the importance of wearing masks and following physical distancing norms,” said R. Dhanvan Raj, a police constable, who along with his colleagues Prabhu and Radhakrishnan, plays the instruments.
The band has been there for the past many years and there are 15 members, all policemen, who play close to 13 instruments including drums, cymbals, the trumpet and clarinet.
Over the past few days, they have been going around in a police van across Vellore district. “When we see a crowded market place or where there is heavy vehicle movement, we get down and carry out the awareness exercise,” he added.
Till now the band has been used during passing out parades, to welcome higher officers, police programmes and in police training college. “This is the first time we are doing something like this,” he explained.
