These corona warriors didn’t celebrate Rakhi with their families, so that we could

When we were celebrating the day with our families and having the best meals, these cops were on roads to ensure that they safeguard us against Covid-19.

While most of us had a blast celebrating Raksha Bandhan, the cops in the city couldn’t get their share of joy. Engaged in their duties all day long, they only focussed on work to ensure that the festival doesn’t end up becoming a bummer for the still prevalent rule of social distancing, and too many people don’t gather in one place.

Many Delhi Police personnel could not meet their families on Raksha Bandhan this year because they had to fill in for their colleagues, who have been fighting Covid-19. (Photo: Vipin Kumar/HT (For Representational Purposes Only))

Though most of them havd e received their rakhis via courier and were able to tie the threads from their sisters, but still missed the joy of being with their families. “The festival is virtual this year,” laughs Sanjeev Kumar Vohra, Delhi Police, Head Constable (HC) whose family lives in Himachal Pradesh. “It’s not new for us, we are quite habitual of not celebrating festivals with our families. But, this year we were also scared to visit them. Bas subah WhatsApp call kar lenge aur sabse baat karke waise hi celebrate ho jayega. In fact I haven’t been able to visit my family since past five months, and I miss my kids the most,” adds Vohra.

Some of the cops who used to get rakhis tied by their colleagues’ families, feel nostalgic about the sweet gesture that has enabled them to extend their family. “We either tie rakhi to each other and eat sweets together or some school students visit us every year. But this year due to the corona virus, there weren’t any visitors. Families of other policemen who lives in Delhi are also like family to us... Last year one of my colleagues’ daughter tied rakhi on my wrist, and it strengthened my bond with my colleague,” says HC Dharanveer whose family lives in Uttar Pradesh.

Another reason that many couldn’t celebrate this festival with their families is the shortage of staff. “Many of my colleagues were corona positive, and we are also prone to the virus since we had maximum exposure to it while on the job. So, since there was less staff on ground, it was difficult to get an off. And to be honest, it gave us immense joy to see others being able to celebrate happily. It felt that we are a part of their celebrations, and so we didn’t mind being away from our families. Duty sabse pehle hai nai ji,” says constable Rajeev Saroha whose family lives in Uttar Pradesh.

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