Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday held a review meeting with the superintendents of police of 10 Upper Assam districts at the conference hall of deputy commissioner’s office, Dibrugarh, and took stock of the prevailing law and order in those districts.

Deputy inspector-generals of northern, northeastern, eastern and central ranges were also present in the meeting which was attended by SPs of Dibrugarh, Sadia, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Majuli, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Golaghat and Charaideo.

While appreciating the role played by Assam police in the fight against coronavirus, Sonowal urged them to maintain the continuity in supply chain of essential commodities to minimise hardship of common people during the extended lockdown period announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi till May 3.

Cautioning against over-activism, Sonowal referred to the recent incident of alleged harassment and manhandling of power department staff by the police at Dergaon in Golaghat district and said such incidents — which might bring a bad name to Assam police and overshadow their good work — must be avoided.

Underlining the need for coordination among departments such as health, police, public health engineering, agriculture, veterinary among others, he said: “When all the departments work in tandem then only a government can carry out activities smoothly and people can get benefits. The police have a major role in facilitating all other departments in performing their duties effectively while ensuring that strict lockdown is maintained,” he said.

Directing the police to conduct opinion polls on social media to get people’s feedback, Sonowal appreciated Assam police for reaching out to many people in distress and helping them with food, medicine among others.

He directed the police to act swiftly.

Sonowal also instructed the SPs of the Upper Assam districts to monitor the tea garden lines and help the tea community people in consultation with line sardars.

Directing the police to take care of the migrant workers and labourers from other states who are stranded in Assam, Sonowal said the Assam government had promised all states that their people would be safe here and Assam police must ensure fulfilment of this commitment.

He said there should not be any interruption in the supply of rice and other essential items under PDS so that poor people do not face any difficulty.

Sonowal directed the police to issue warnings to those who post hate messages on social media.

He also instructed that all the officers-in-charge (OCs) of police stations should have a list of Asha workers in their areas so that these grassroots health workers do not face any difficulty or harassment.