Women personnel at the DGP headquarters are a happy lot. The reason? The recently-inaugurated day care centre on the premises has become the cynosure of all eyes. Thanks to IPS officer Dr Soumya Mishra, Inspector General of Police (Welfare). Ask her what was the inspiration behind taking up the initiative, and she explains, “I am myself a mother, and being a welfare officer I need to know what’s necessary for my staff to work efficiently. Given the nuclear family lifestyles and with the growing number of working women, children’s well-being has become a cause of concern.”
She also says that culturally, in our country, women have to look after their family as men do not share domestic responsibility, unlike in Europe. “I believe a children’s zone would support women employees who can leave their children at the premises during working hours,” explains Soumya. Notably, special care was taken to set up a child-friendly creche at the headquarters. “All the wall edges have been made smooth, furniture and toys are just around the kids’ height. The bed size, washbasin and washroom size are made accordingly for the kids and there’s an exclusive room to breastfeed infants,” she says, adding, “The facility has a refrigerator, microwave, induction stove, bottle warmer and washer. Whatever the mother gets from home will be served to the kids by the caretaker. The day care runs from 10.30 am to 5 pm, and mothers will be given two hours’ time to visit their children during the lunch break. So far, we have around 15 kids at the centre and the number is growing.”
Soumya also states that a day care facility will boost the productivity of the employees. “Even when I was an assistant superintendent of police, I visited the police quarters and came up with solutions for the police staff. If we can look after the welfare of the staff, they in turn can effectively serve the public. I can see the employees coming to work happily and their productivity has also improved. When I was working in Cyberabad, I used to patrol during nights. So I used to put my kid to sleep in the patrolling vehicle because there was no child care. There are a few other IPS officers who did the same.” Interestingly, Soumya also started a first-of-its-kind emergency clinic in the headquarter premises. Her story and achievements make one thing clear — if there’s something this IGP loves doing, it’s ensuring everyone’s welfare, right from her own child to the public.
