Here’s Why The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Police Will Choose Traditional Dhoti-Kurta Rather Than Khaki Uniform

Varanasi: Police officers stationed at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh’s Kashi Vishwanath Dham complex, are becoming dressed in more devotee-friendly garb. Female officials would wear salwar kurtas, while male officers would wear dhotis and dupattas (shawls) akin to those worn by priests. This calculated action seeks to dispel stereotypes associated with conventional police clothing and foster a friendly environment.

These cops will go through a thorough three-day training program before being deployed, with the main goal being to improve their soft skills in speaking with devotees. The goal of the action is to enhance the experience for devotees while avoiding unfavorable judgments about police outfits.

Putting a “No Touch” Policy into Practice: A “no touch” policy will be put into effect in an effort to simplify crowd control procedures. This method seeks to effectively manage crowds while maintaining respect and dignity among believers. Mohit Agrawal, the Commissioner of Police, stressed the importance of upholding the feelings of devotees and fostering harmony inside the complex. He said that the manner in which the police handled crowds often made devotees feel insulted. He observed that followers accepted comparable behaviors from temple priests with more acceptance.

“When devotees are forced to wait in lengthy lines for darshan, a serious problem occurs. This irritates those in queue and delays their darshan, or prayer offering. Authorities have chosen to have a “khaki-free” inner sanctum in order to solve the issue and improve the image of the police, he added.

Agrawal continued, saying that they are also looking for measures to guarantee a positive tourist experience and enhance the perception of police who are participating in crowd management.

When clearing a path for VIP movements, officers won’t physically move devotees or impede lines. Rather, he added, they would utilize ropes to lead followers in different directions without requiring any physical touch.

Even though fewer people visited the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in 2018 than in the previous two years after renovations, there have been allegations of police personnel forcibly removing people from the sanctum sanctorum or its doors.

In this context, an experiment was conducted in 2018.