Stagnation in police and administration
MEDIA reports have highlighted the current precarious state of the country’s police and civil administration. The pace of work in these two important pillars of the state apparatus has almost come to a standstill. There is a kind of invisible stagnation from the field level to the secretariat.
According to the reports, most of the officials and employees are spending their time on routine office work; but they are refraining from making long-term decisions or taking bold steps in the public interest. All eyes are now on the next elected government.
A deep psychological crisis is at work behind this stagnation. The rupture in the chain of command that occurred after the student uprising has not yet been fully repaired. There is a sense of insecurity, especially within the police force. Many officers feel that the current time is simply about ‘survival’.
No one wants to take any big decision for fear of how it will be evaluated during the next government’s tenure. As a result, many development projects and decisions of public importance are stuck in files. This ‘go slowly’ policy of the administration and the police is having a direct impact on the lives of the common people.
The previous activity of the police in taking cases at the police station or suppressing crime is not visible, which is causing the law and order situation to deteriorate in many areas. Due to stagnation in district and upazila administration, local level development work is at a standstill.
The lack of action in service institutions like market regulation of daily necessities, prevention of smuggling, and stopping corruption in land offices is increasing the suffering of the common people. A country cannot continue like this indefinitely. Our administrative structure has long been over-politicized.
To overcome this stalemate, the interim government must adopt both tough and sensitive methods. It must restore confidence among the police and the administration. The reform process must establish a framework that ensures that the administrative system does not collapse with the change of government.
The country cannot stand still until the next government comes into power. This administration has the primary responsibility to implement the dream of state reform that the young people have shed their blood on the streets for. If we waste time just waiting for political changes, the country will lag behind further. So, the administration and police must immediately return to work with full enthusiasm, prioritizing the interests of the state rather than individual or group interests.