CRPF DG refuses farewell parade to ease troops' burden
In a bid to avoid additional pressure on the troops, outgoing CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad has refused the ceremonial farewell parade planned for his retirement. "As such the CRPF is stretched. Then is the additional responsibility of ongoing elections," the 1981 batch IPS officer said. He instead visited the troops and tried to address their concerns, Prasad added.
A step to ease some pressure from a vast body of stressed troops has been taken.In what many have termed an 'unprecedented departure from an age-old norm', the Director General of the India's biggest central armed police force, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), K Durga Prasad has declined a farewell parade being planned for his retirement at the end of the month. This is, in his own words, keeping the 'convenience of the force in mind'.From being deployed for the conduct of elections to supporting counter-insurgency operations to aiding the police, the 239-battalion strong CRPF is among the most extensively deployed forces.WHY NO FAREWELL PARADEIn his first reaction, K Durga Prasad, a 1981 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer said, "As such the CRPF is stretched. Then is the additional responsibility of ongoing elections. In this, a farewell parade would have meant that my personnel would be committed for an extended period to duties which are ceremonial in nature". Instead, "I visited my troops where they are, heard them and am trying to address their issues", he said. Travelling over weekends, clearing files till late in the evening in office and camping for night halts between troop locations is indeed a norm for the present DG. He asked his staff to arrange a simple Guard of Honour to mark the end of his career.  Durga Prasad enjoys the reputation of being a hands-on leader with his ear to the ground. From taking the Maoists head-on in united Andhra Pradesh as the leader of 'Greyhounds' force, he also held charge of the elite Special Protection Group (SPG) between November 2011 and November 2014. He also, as the Inspector General (IG), played a role in raising CRPF's own commando force, CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action). His choice, to many, reflects an acknowledgement of something being amiss.Also read | Exclusive: CRPF working on mobile app for its 3 lakh jawans   A uniformed force functions on the principle of alternative posting for its personnel. From areas considered 'hard', personnel should be posted to areas considered 'soft'. This so that adequate rest, recuperation and training can be provided. However, forces like the CRPF have almost junked this principle. Rest, recuperation and training have been reduced merely to concepts on paper, say insiders. "From a 50 per cent divide into hard and soft areas, the CRPF is more than 80 per cent into hard areas. Where is the room for respite?", asked an informed source. DURGA PRASAD'S MOVE WELCOMEDAn officer of the CRPF, who has previously organised farewell parades termed Durga Prasad's decision a 'welcome move'. He recounted, "For about a month, nearly 1,000 troops pooled in from all across the country march up and down in practice for the farewell parade at the CRPF training academy near Gurugram. In comparison, a Guard of Honour will involve not more than 100 troops". DC Dey is a highly-regarded veteran, who retired as the Additional Director General of the CRPF. In his opinion, Durga Prasad's move deserves to be 'commended'. "Someone retiring as a DG definitely deserves a show. However, very few outside have an idea of how much stress the force personnel are under. When elections are around the corner, we cancel all leaves".