ALLAHABAD: To ensure that its personnel are themselves prepared to deal with the cold before coming forward to look after the safety of the devotees, Mela police would distribute cap comforters and jungle shoes among its personnel to keep them warm in the winter chill during the Kumbh Mela.Additional SP (Kumbh Mela) Neeraj Pandey said, “As over 22,500 policemen would be posted across the 20 sectors of the venue, the Mela police have allocated Rs 12 lakh for distribution of cap comforters and jungle shoes to policemen.”Pandey said that most policemen already have police jackets but they would be given cap comforters and jungle shoes to protect themselves from the winter chill.The move comes after 30% of the policemen posted at the Mahakumbh in 2013 in Allahabad had complained of symptoms closely associated with chilblains—a common disease among people living in hilly regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh—due to the extreme cold.Chilblains is characterised by the appearance of small red or violet coloured patches on the skin and itching. It is usually self-treatable but sometimes may take up to weeks to be treated completely.The ASP said that the jungle shoes would helpful for policemen while patrolling in sandy areas and forests.“Employees of various government departments posted at the Magh Mela, Kumbh Mela or Ardh Kumbh are directly exposed to the cold weather. About one-third of them complain about chilblains. The fingers and toes of a person affected by the medical condition are often swollen,” said a senior official of the district health department.“People are often unable to wear gloves or footwear due to the swelling and the itching causes a lot of discomfort,” the official added.The official said that the woollen caps or cap comforters and the jungle shoes can reduce the loss of body heat by up to 30%.

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