Avoid close-up photos of officials, recipients during COVID-19 relief work: CRPF to units

With pictures of people giving essential goods to those in need during COVID-19 relief work flooding the media, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has directed its field units to avoid clicking close-up photographs of their personnel and distressed recipients to respect their privacy.

The force recently sent a message to all its field units, saying while it was important to click photographs of these civic aid work being done across the country for "audit purposes", clicking pictures that show faces of the force officials and distressed recipients should be avoided.

"It must be kept in mind that the focus (of the camera) should be on the deed and not on the doer or receiver," the CRPF directive accessed by PTI said.

"Hence, close-ups of the people involved in the activity should be avoided, while taking pictures and they should broadly depict the act or activities being undertaken so that no one feels that their privacy is being invaded," it said.

The directive said pictures should be taken with an aim to record proof for official "purposes of audit performance related projection and documentation".

Pictures of people distributing food and other essentials are being seen over social media, newspapers and television news channels.

"The directive was issued after observing that such noble activities of helping the needy should not become photo events but serve the real purpose catering to the distressed, stranded, hungry and poor," a senior official said.

The CRPF, the country's largest paramilitary force with about 3.25 lakh personnel in its ranks, has asked all its field formations to provide food and other essential items to poor and stranded during the ongoing 40-days lockdown in the country aimed to combat coronavirus.

Many other agencies, departments and organisations in the public and private domain are carrying out similar works of providing dry rations, cooked food, supply of protective gear, face masks to people.

The lockdown is stipulated to continue till May 3.