Go have a party: Andhra DGP

The director general of police, Mr R.R. Girish Kumar, on Wednesday asked people to celebrate the arrival of New Year without fear and said his force would assure their safety.

“Go and party for the New Year,” he said. “The agitators have no right to disrupt the celebrations. People need not be afraid of such threats. We will provide security to the places where people celebrate and will not allow any disruption. People can enjoy the New Year as usual.”

The DGP said he had asked his officers to come down heavily on agitators who disrupt normal life, who take law into their hands or curb the rights of the common man. “In a democracy people have the right to do as per their wish within the ambit of law,” he said.

His assurance has given a sense of security to revellers and partygoers as well as hotels and resorts.

“His assurance is fantastic and we are on top of the world,” said Mr B. Jagadish Rao, general secretary of the AP Hotels Association. “Earlier, it was the practice of the police to ask us to keep the hotels closed on bandh days. With this assurance, we will keep them open.”

He said there were lots of cops on the streets and this would give people an opportunity to come out and have a good time.

“We had plans for the New Year party but then we had to call them off because of the tension,” said Mr Sanjiv Dhavan, an employee with HSBC Bank in Hitec City. “But the DGP’s announcement gives us relief. We have decided to party harder to ring in this New Year.”

The DGP also expressed concern at the apprehensions of industrialists, the decline of investment and the disruption of vehicle movement triggering shortage of essential commodities and price rise.

“Because of the violent agitation there is uncertainty and insecurity and the police has to act in a different way,” he said.