Kudos to The Bangalore Police

What really caught my attention is how the Bangalore City Police used social media during the recent cauvery crisis that hijacked the city. Monday morning all was normal. Around noon news of protests started to come in and within the hour we were hearing how aggressive and violent it was, buses trucks and cars burnt, tamil owned establishments attacked, malls stoned... and the news spread so quick that it started to create panic. 

I was no exception...when I heard how bad it was getting, I decided to store up on some basic supplies.  Even as I was buying, there was this gang of bikers with sticks and flags who came and force shut the kirana shop...even in our calm and sleepy Jayanagar galli. I then went further, only to see tyres burning at every crossroad, totally deserted roads, small groups of scared faces....the tension was palpable. The city was in the grip of fear.

And as is rife in such situations, rumors started to spread.....of sec 144 here, curfew there, bandh on this day, rasta roko on that day. What was impressive is how the Police used social media. They used twitter, FB, website.... to put the facts out there. The moment you got some news on whats app, there would be someone else who put a screen shot of the police fb page saying it's not true. 

Sec 144 was later imposed, but this was even before that. They also did two additional things: a fb post which said that any arson or attacks anywhere and we could take a picture and send and they would take care of it right away. And second, imposing section 66, which said that spreading news without actual evidence, was punishable. 

Just to know the truth at times like this.....it instilled confidence, and I believe this played no small part in getting the city back on it's feet within a day. My respect for them has definitely gone up many points. Kudos and Thanks Bangalore Police!!!