Chp 807. Lockdown and Mizoram Police

Today is Day 24 of the Total Lockdown in India, and Day 27 of a Lockdown in Mizoram.

Here's a question for you.

Are you bored staying at home now? Do you have that itch inside to... just go out of your house and roam around your city, town or village like a free bird?

Well, if so, I have a game for you to play. Hear me out.

Imagine you're inside a boxing ring.

Right?

Do you picture yourself inside that boxing ring?

Good.

You're inside the boxing ring, wearing boxing gloves and a pair of shiny & slippery shorts.

You're all pumped up, and the crowd outside the ring is calling out your name! The spotlights are on you. You flex your muscles and 6-pack abs. Yes of course, it's your imagination. Feel free to visualize yourself in any way you want.

As the crowd continues to roar and chant out your name, your opponent enters the ring. Everybody boos him.

The fight starts. ding ding!

You are onto your opponent like an animal! You are thrashing him left and right. Bam, boom, dissshhh... Haih jisshhh. An upper-cut to the jaw, a knee to the groin, a kiss to the cheek, you are doing whatever you want to your opponent, clearly winning the fight.

And then suddenly... A fist appears out of nowhere and knocks you right on the face, sending you sprawling to the ground!

As you see stars circling all around you, you notice that your opponent is still down! Who the hell threw that punch at you!!??

You get up slowly, still a bit woozy, and then more punches suddenly appear out of nowhere from all directions! There's no way you can defend yourself because you cannot see who is punching you! You feel your ribs breaking from the punches, your jawline dislocating, your nose bridge shattering into a million pieces.

You cough out blood, you're in excruciating pain, you scream in agony!

And then... ding ding!

Saved by the bell.

Round over. Game over. You lose.

Did you enjoy playing that game? I don't think so. I don't think anybody would. Where were those invisible punches coming from, it was as if your opponent was using some sort of "cheat codes" against you, right? Such an unfair fight!

And that, my dear friends, is exactly what the police in Mizoram are going through every day during this lockdown period.

Apart from protecting us all from all the usual elements, there is a new enemy that none of them can see. A silent but deadly killer that can appear out of nowhere and take them by surprise, if they're unprotected or caught off-guard.

The difference is, while you and I have the luxury of not playing such an unfair game as above, our police officers have no other option but to step inside the ring again.

As of today, luckily there has been no case of any CoVid-19 infected personnel among the police fraternity, but considering some of the conditions they have to live under, it's hard to say how long it will be like that.

 So here is a post dedicated to the Police of Mizoram.


[Pic above posted with permission of photographer Armand Malsawm Dawngzela]

Special thanks to fellow blogger and SDPO of Lunglei, F Vanlalrochana, for clearing many of my questions and giving me valuable information for this update. 

Recently when I wrote about the Local Level Task Force (LLTF) on my blog [Chp 802. Mizoram: Setting an example for India], it was met with widespread appreciation across the country. People, especially those from outside Mizoram, were impressed that the LLTF was not just managing the entire locality but there was a total absence of the police in all the pictures that I posted.

Even the Commissioner of Police of Pune, where I had lived and worked for the past 5 years, tweeted out my blog post link!

Mizos are socially and voluntarily enforcing Lockdown with every citizen enforcing it and exhibiting great Social Responsibility.

Notice the total absence of Police. https://t.co/Iw3wHb9Jo8

— CP Pune City (@CPPuneCity) April 1, 2020

Though a lot of people were impressed with the fact that the presence of police was not required to maintain the curfew in Mizoram, I received this question, "So, what are the police in Mizoram doing then? Are they on vacation?" 

The answer is, "Most definitely not!"

Because the LLTF is doing the bulk work of maintaining the lockdown within Mizoram, our police forces are now able focus on more important work, actual police work, like providing security to quarantine and isolation centres, screening points, storage godowns, banks, VIPs including all ministerial staff, magistrates, and so on. They are also on patrol-duty during the entire night, and most important of all, they are posted at the state borders.

Mizoram shares a porous border with three Indian states and two countries:
            Tripura = 109 km
            Assam = 123 km
            Manipur = 95 km
            Bangladesh = 431 km
            Myanmar = 510 km

While the BSF (Border Security Force) that comes under the Central Govt (CAPF) are guarding all the main check-gates, during these times of complete lockdown, it is not possible to guard all 1200+ km by themselves, and so the state police are responsible for "border sealing" and are camped all across the borders of Mizoram, staying vigil throughout the day and night to make sure nobody is entering the state through the many open ravines and forest lands.

In fact, all leaves and holidays of every police personnel had been cancelled and the state police force is currently functioning at a 100% capacity.

And when I say they are camped at the border areas, don't picture in your head a typical police barrack or police station, you know, a structurally strong building with a roof above, well maintained rows of cots with mattresses etc. Nopes. That's not it.

Here's where our police personnel are currently camping at the border areas. For security reasons, the exact location couldn't be disclosed by my source, but it's somewhere along the Mizoram-Myanmar border.





At another location along the Mizoram-Myanmar border, one of the farmers had allowed the police posted there to use his farmhouse, known as thlâm in Mizo, as their outpost.



Conditions are equally bad on the other side of the state, like this picture below is one of the many police outposts at the Mizoram-Bangladesh border.



And all this is really not the current government's fault, or the previous governments for that matter. There had never been any real requirement and valid reason before to guard the entire state border with this much vigil and manpower.

Earlier, yeah, you might be able to waltz across the border into Mizoram undetected, as those police outposts weren't there yet. But then, what will you do after that? All non-domicile people of Mizoram require an ILP (Inner Line Permit) to enter Mizoram, and without that, you can't find a job or rent a house etc. You're just stuck in no-man's land, and if you are caught, you will be jailed. Like for example, this happened yesterday:

Champhai Police chuan Indo-Myanmar Border khar hnua dan loa ramri kana lo lut mi pahnih, DPRC Quarantine Centre-a dahte chu an awm hun chhung ni 14 a zawh hnuah natna kai rinhlelhawma an awm lo tih finfiah a nih hnuah District Jail-ah an dahlut nghal https://t.co/KC6ikSZTrD

— DIPRMizoram (@dipr_mizoram) April 16, 2020

Translation: "Champhai Police caught two people entering Mizoram illegally through the Indo-Myanmar border, and they were placed in a quarantine centre for 14 days. After the quarantine period was over, they showed no symptoms of CoVid-19, and so they were then transported to the district jail."

Lolz, yeah, that's really kinda unfortunate, being forced to serve a 14 days quarantine and then being jailed immediately after that.

And so yes, earlier there was no real reason to be this much vigilant at the border outposts, but now the borders need to be guarded with utmost attention because of the spread of CoVid-19. Our brave police personnel have no other option but to live in those make-shift outposts you see above.

This morning, I'm sure most of you experienced the terrifying thunderstorm that ravaged across the state? It was around 4:30 AM. Heavy rains and winds rocked my house, and it was quite a scary ordeal. The first thing on my mind was those makeshift police outposts!

And just as I feared, the thunderstorm didn't spare them! This is what was left of a police outpost at Mizoram-Assam border after this morning's rain.



I haven't heard a follow-up on the above outpost yet, but I'm sure they must have rebuilt the outpost like nothing had happened and are now back to guarding our borders again.

By the way, my intention is not to get political or blame somebody for this. Like I said, I don't find any fault in this current government or the previous government because none of us foresaw this pandemic. Instead, I'm highlighting their plight because we need to be aware of the amount of hardships our police forces are currently facing throughout the state. 

In fact according to F Vanlalrochana, at least 90 of these new border outposts do not have any source of electricity! A large number of Solar light cum charger units had been purchased by the Police Headquarters today and they will soon be deployed at these outposts.

These are the things that you and I never hear amidst the lockdown in Mizoram. We are all so busy discussing about the pandemic, talking about when we will get our next supply of vegetables and other essential goods, without even thinking of the police at our border outposts who do not even have a roof over their heads.

Not to mention, we keep forgetting them in our prayers as well.

Just today, the Synod Executive Committee released a circular, asking all of us to pray for the following:
1) Those infected with CoVid-19
2) Families of those who lost someone because of CoVid-19
3) All our medical staff
4) All our Task Force duty members
5) All the leaders of our government



It is a very important list and I too will definitely pray for all of them. But I just wish our police personnel were included in the list too. Maybe in the next circular, Synod? Like I said, we don't talk much about the ordeal they are going through, so we just take it for granted that all must be well with them. It is not.

In fact, do you know that TWO police officers had already lost their lives since the beginning of this lockdown while on border duty? You probably won't, because nobody talks about them.

Havaldar F Lalthansanga from Lunglei Lunglawn suffered from severe fever while on Mizoram-Myanmar border duty this morning, and he was taken to Lungpher Hospital, where he succumbed to his sickness at 8:20 AM today. C/323 Lalduhthlana from Pangzawl, Hnahthial Dist. posted with 2nd MAP on Mizoram-Bangladesh border duty, suffered acute abdomen pain, and he was taken to Lunglei Civil Hospital, where he succumbed to pulmonary failure at 1:47 AM on 7th April. He left behind his wife and four children.

Two souls gone while on CoVid-19 border duty. That is two times more than the total number of CoVid-19 fatality in Mizoram so far. May their souls rest in peace.

And speaking of leaving behind loved ones, many of these police officers posted in the border outposts come from lower and middle income families, and some of them are the sole bread earners while others have a wife and young kids, who are now on their own and cannot get much help from outside because of the lockdown.

I do hope this post of mine can shed some light into the hardships they face, and that we remember them all in our prayers too. Many of these police personnel, both in the populated areas and border outposts have not been taking any rest for days at a stretch now. And yet, they still try to do additional work for our community, like on 14th April, Mizoram Police donated their one day salary to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The amount came to Rs. 1,41,64,972/- in total!

 

The cheque was presented to the CM Pu Zoramthanga by a delegation of police personnel consisting of one police officer of each rank.



That amount will also definitely help improve the conditions of many of these police officers too, so let us continue praying for their well being.

The Mizoram Police Service Association along with the Dy SP rank and above officers had also contributed a good part of their salary in purchasing masks and hand sanitizers. Pu David Sapzova had also bought hand sanitizers for different police units across Mizoram like the district police, CID etc.

That's why in the midst of all this, it is so reassuring and heart-warming to see the PPE Volunteer's group donating PPE kits to these police officers. Here are some of the police manning the Vairengte check-gate while wearing the PPE donated to them by the Kolasib Volunteer's Group.



And here are the PPE Volunteer's Group members across Mizoram giving batches of masks and PPE's to different police officers on duty.

And finally, to end this post, here is the man himself, F Vanlalrochana, SDPO of Lunglei, thanking members of the Lunglei PPE Volunteer's Group for donating masks to the police department.



A big thanks to him for helping me write this post. 

Until my next post then, cheers everyone. A big salute to our Mizoram Police!

Chp 806. PPE Volunteers Group Founders

Today is Day 20 of the Total Lockdown in India, and Day 23 of a Lockdown in Mizoram.

Today, the lockdown in India has been officially extended till May 3rd. So, here's to 20 more days of staying in our homes to prevent the spread of CoVid-19. We can do this, people.

Also today, the awesome team and founders of the "PPE Volunteers Group" that I have been writing about on my blog came to my house and paid me a surprise visit!



Don't worry, they got permits from the Magistrate office and Local Level Task Force (LLTF) to distribute masks to different hospitals and LLTFs today, and they stopped by my place briefly on their way to give me free masks for writing about them. I'm really thankful to them for that!

We were extremely cautious too, not even shaking each other's hands even though we were meeting for the first time. We maintained all social distancing protocol and only huddled together very quickly to take the photographs you can in this post. After taking the pics, we were back to maintaining 5m distance from each other.

Though today was the first time we met, we were completely comfortable with each other because we have been interacting at WhatsApp regularly as I would keep asking them information about their work for my blog updates. In case you haven't read about them yet, here are my previous posts:

Day 3: Birth of PPE Volunteers Group
Day 16: PPE Volunteers Group update

Everything is covered in the above two links, from how the group was created and how they operate, to the number of items they've made and the people they have distributed those items to for free. In this update, I am writing about just them as it is the least I can do for the sacrifices that they have given to our Mizo community.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying their work is more important than the other volunteers. All those tailors and designers who have volunteered for this program not just in Aizawl but all across Mizoram like Kolasib, Lunglei, Siaha, Mamit etc are ALL doing a FANTASTIC work as well. I would love to write about them in the future too. For now, since I got to know them very well in the past 3 weeks and because they're the ones who started this whole movement, I just thought people deserve to know more about them.





We had a good chat over coffee at my house as they filled me in with all the current work they're doing and the pending work ahead. They explained to me about how the masks they gave me could be washed and reused etc. And after that, they went on their way to hand over another batch of masks to another locality LLTF. As of today, they have supplied masks to more than 50 different LLTFs in the city of Aizawl, and each LLTF would get around 30-50 masks.



So here is a little bit more personal information about the five of them, who they are, where they're from, and whether they're single or not. :P


1. Bethel Lalparmawii.


Bethel is a designer from Upper Republic and she runs her own fashion house known as "Bethel's Boutique", also situated at Upper Republic. She was the one who created the main "Volunteers Group" WhatsApp group, and from there, we all know the rest of the story. She's only on Instagram, and she had to log back into her Facebook account after 2 years just because I wanted to tag her in this post on Facebook, since I don't have an IG account. :D


2. Lalremruati Betlu.


Lri is a designer from Maubawk and she runs her own shop from her house known as "LR Betlu Design". She's planning to change the name to "Armani Gucci LR Betlu" to attract more customers :P Lri is the only UPC member among the five of them, and she is also an excellent hair stylist as well. She's also the only one among them who "protects" her Facebook pictures, you know, like those Hollywood celebs. :D


3. Jenny Lalduhsaki.


Jenny is a designer from the town of Sesawng, currently settling in Hunthar Veng, and she runs her own fashion shop called "JT Fashion House" situated at Zodin Square. The place also serves as a training centre for aspiring designers, where she spends some time taking classes to teach these students. JT Fashion House is currently used as a base of operation by these five designers to cut and stitch the PPE's in Aizawl.


4. Lalhriatpuii Varte.


Hriati is a B.Ed student from ITI Veng and a wannabe designer at heart. She's the only one among the five of them who doesn't run her own fashion business, but she is passionate and talented as hell. She goes by the name "Hriati Grey" online, probably as a tribute to her favorite actress Sasha Grey :P Hriati also drives her own car which the five of them utilize as transportation to deliver or collect materials and finished products across town.


5. Lalthakimi.


Kimkimi doesn't have a last name or English name :P She is a designer from Armed Veng South, and she currently runs her own fashion store called "STYLE Up" situated at McDonald Hill. My friends from Chaltlang who work at Home Missions School next to her shop had often told me of her beauty and charm long before I even came to know her through this Volunteers initiative. :)


And so, these are the five designers who started this whole Volunteers Group movement and if we get through this Pandemic one day and we all return to our normal lives, please try to visit their design shops mentioned above and maybe order/buy from them. That would be a really cool way of saying thank you to them for their relentless sacrifice.


The work and dedication.

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, these five designers are known as the "Cutting Crew" and they are responsible for purchasing all the required materials and cutting them and then sending them out to various tailors and other designers across the city for stitching (do read my previous posts to know about how they operate).

But here's the thing most people don't know yet. During the first week of this Volunteer's Program, due to the lockdown and difficulty in getting permits to venture outside, these five designers actually camped inside Jenny's shop!



Yup, for an entire week, they all worked from "JT Fashion House" without going home. They cooked their own food inside the shop and even slept inside, while working on the materials the whole time. As for the food, they would take turns cooking, while the rest of them were working.



Before eating dinner, every night they would have a family prayer, a chhung inkhawm and they would also take turns again reading the Bible and saying a prayer. Here they are enjoying the food they cooked.



Simple but delicious food. They usually eat just rice, dal, eggs fry and onion chutney along with assorted pickles as they are the simplest to make.



Towards the end of their week's stay in Jenny's shop, they were running low on food ration, and so other volunteers like  Saii from Khatla delivered rice to them.



Others were always ready to help them out. Like when they ran out of drinking water, Hminghluii of Chaltlang came and gave them bottled water.



Apart from that, many people helped them with food & drinks as much as they could. Like when Dr. Doris Zami of Durtlang Synod Hospital came to their shop to collect the PPE's and masks they had made, she brought for them lots of snacks, munchies and refreshments.



In the night, they would use some of the left-over fabric materials as mattresses and they slept on top of it.



What you see above might be a shabby makeshift bed. What I see instead is a glorious nesting pad only deserving for the most gallant nupuiṭha of our society, the cradle of sacrifice and tlawmngaihna.



Sleeping angels of Mizoram.



Indeed they are angels, because angels protect people, and that's exactly what they do once they wake up - cutting and stitching more protective gears for the people of Mizoram.

On a lighter side, when asked who would snore the loudest among them when they all sleep together, all of them agreed that it would be Hriati and Lri. On the question of who would stay up the longest among them, again it would be the two of them, as apparently they would chat with each other for a very long time after lights-out. :D Meanwhile, Bethel apparently grinds her teeth while sleeping, according to Jenny.

For the entire week, they also took bath and pee-pee'ed and poo-poo'ed inside Jenny's shop too. I mean, inside her shop's bathroom of course. They have some dignity :P

Here's proof that they took bath, as you can see from one of my friend's observation below when she was viewing my previous update :D



Now the above pic gave rise to many questions like, is that really an underwear, and if yes, then whose underwear is it, and more importantly, why is there just one underwear, are they all sharing one underwear and taking turns wearing it? :D

Jokes aside, it is apparently a piece of cloth they use to clean the table :D

And so those are some of their experiences. After a week of staying inside the shop, Mizoram too had adjusted to the suddenly imposed lockdown, bureaucratically speaking, and so Pu Lalfakzuala, Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Pu David H Lalthangliana, Deputy Secretary, Home Dept., were issuing them daily permits to continue with their work. They continued to meet at Jenny's shop everyday and then go home in the night.



Bethel also reminded me to mention and thank all their respective LLTFs (Armed Veng South, Upper Republic, Maubawk, Hunthar Veng and ITI Veng) for allowing them to move around during the first week of lockdown when they didn't have permission yet to do their work, and thanks to the LLTF's understanding, more than 50 LLTFs across Aizawl now have masks and other protective gears, not to mention all the items they have given to different hospitals, other essential office staff and border check-gates.

As of today, Bethel and her team heaved a sigh of relief as there is not much demand now, compared to the first week of lockdown, and many of the tailors and designers who had volunteered initially have now left the program. That may sound like bad news but it is actually great news because those people are now busy stitching masks and other protective outfits for their respective localities directly, instead of delegating it through Bethel and her team, hence removing a lot of load from their backs.

So let us continue remembering them in our thoughts and prayers. A very big standing ovation for all of them including all the PPE Volunteers across Mizoram who have signed up for this. You people surely rock!

Signing off for now. Take care everyone.







Ps. If you're still reading this because you want to know which of these amazing five ladies have a boyfriend or not, well the answer is, they are all currently single. wink wink :)

Cheers everyone.