The managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, Loknath Behera is one of the longest-serving police chiefs in Kerala,
Loknath Behera, the managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, revealed in a private conversation the reasons behind his staying back in Kerala instead of returning to his native Odisha or Delhi; he also shared his thoughts on what made the southern state different from the national capital.
Behera revealed that he had two places where he could return: his native place, Odisha, or to Delhi, where he owns a house and lived for 16 years. He chose not to return to Odisha since, except for his brother, none of his family lived there anymore.
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Behera said that he stayed back in Kerala for two reasons. “This is a place where life is good and … easier than Delhi,” he said.
Speaking about the southern state, Behera said, “Here you have a very good support system, and it’s a good state; it has all the facilities, whether it’s medical or anything else, and then mostly people know me and I know people, so that is easier for me to get that kind of help or respect or whatever you want.”
Hailing from Odisha, Behera has been instrumental in modernising the Kerala police and equipping the force with modern vehicles and state-of-the-art small arms and non-lethal weaponry.
One of the reasons why he chose to stay back in Kerala was it being highly developed and the state being system-driven. He observed, “It is a very highly developed state compared to other states. In terms of the human resource index or health, electricity, it [Kerala] is system managed. It is not like North India that you have to go for a recommendation; these things do not work mostly here. It is all system driven. The system has already been put. Yeah. Only when there is a variation or something you have to approach; otherwise, there is nobody who actually approaches anybody here.”
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The second reason was that the government had asked him to stay back for work and help out with projects that were stuck in the pipeline. “Whether it is water metro or metro, it [the project] got stuck up. I could do it. Move it out. And we made a profit also,” he said.
Speaking on what holds for his future and whether he will continue his stay in Kerala, Behera said, “I don’t know whether I will stay permanently or somewhere something happens, I go back. Nobody has seen the future.”
Comparing life in Delhi to life in Kerala, he said, “Delhi is good in many ways. It’s bad also in many ways. Very few people have settled, but when it comes to an easy life, Kerala is good.”
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The retired IPS officer had joined the Kerala cadre as ASP Alappuzha. He retired as State Police Chief (SPC) on June 30 in 2021. One of the longest-serving police chiefs in Kerala, he was also one of the founding members of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
During the Future Summit in Kochi on Monday, Behera highlighted the social impact of the Kochi Metro, particularly on women, along with explaining how a comprehensive ecosystem has been built to promote sustainability in transportation, including a cashless ticketing system as part of the Kochi Metro project.
