Development works in Bastar reduced Naxal activities drastically: Chhattisgarh govt

The number of Naxalite incidents in the state has come down significantly in the last three and a half years.

The atmosphere of fear ended with the establishment of 43 new security camps and police stations.

If we look at the figures from the year 2008 to 2018, during this period 500 to 600 violent incidents were carried out by the Naxalites in the state every year, which has come down to an average of 250 in the last three and a half years.

In the year 2022, only 134 Naxal incidents have taken place so far, which is almost four times less than what happened before 2018.Before 2018, the cases of Naxal encounters in the state used to be around 200 per year, which have now come down to double figures.

In the year 2021, there have been only 81 encounter cases in the state and in the year 2022 so far 41 cases have been reported, said the state government.

The number of Naxalites giving up their arms and surrendering has also increased.

In the last three and a half years, 1589 Naxalites have surrendered.

It is the result of the public-friendly policies and development works of the Chhattisgarh government that nearly six lakh people of 589 villages of Bastar division have been completely freed from the influence of Naxalites, out of which 121 villages are in Sukma district.

Total of 118 villages in Dantewada district, 115 villages in Bijapur district, 63 villages of Bastar, 92 villages of Kanker, 48 villages of Narayanpur, 32 villages of Kondagaon have been freed from Naxal influence.

It is worth noting that in the year 2018, the Naxal problem spread to two-thirds of the state. In the plains like Dhamtari, Gariaband, Mahasamund, Rajnandgaon, Kabirdham, Raigarh, including Bastar region, an atmosphere of fear had been created in the entire state due to the violent activities and terror of Naxalites.

In major Naxal incidents like Tadmetla, Jharaghati, Errabor, Madanwada and Jiram Ghati, besides security forces personnel, a large number of top leaders of political parties and civilians were killed. Many schools and ashrams were closed due to Naxal violence.

During this, the road, bridges and culverts were also damaged by the Naxalites. The government formed under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel started a serious effort to create a safe environment to speed up the development works by gaining the trust of the people of the Naxal-affected area, which has yielded very positive results.

Under the Bastar division, 43 new security camps and police stations were established in three-and-a-half years to give impetus to the anti-Naxal campaign as well as the development works as per the wishes of the people of the area. Due to the rapid availability of health, education, public distribution system, electricity facility, banks, Anganwadi centres and other facilities, people's confidence in the administration has increased.

Out of 363 schools closed in Bastar division due to Naxal terror, 257 schools have started again for the education of children due to the efforts of the Chhattisgarh government, out of which 158 schools in Bijapur district, 57 schools in Sukma and two in Kanker Naxal affected areas of the district.

In the last three-and-a-half years, the Chhattisgarh government has also achieved great success in providing transportation and electricity facilities to the Naxal-affected villages of remote Vananchal of Bastar division. Electricity has been provided to 196 villages.

The recruitment of Maoist organizations has come down due to effective steps to connect local youth with employment in the Bastar region, as well as getting more opportunities for recruitment in Chhattisgarh Armed Forces, Bastar Fighters and District Police Force.

As a result of the concrete decision of the government towards the solution of the Naxal problem, the activities of the Maoist organization in Bastar division have been confined to South Bijapur, South Sukma, Indravati National Park area, Abujhmad and Koylibeda area only. (ANI)