Team News Riveting
Raipur, May 28
Tucked away unobtrusively, the densely forested pockets of remote Bastar could now have basic infrastructure to connect the indigenous people to the main stream of the society.
Kudos to the security forces deployed in the restive Bastar region for bringing the change. The construction of 700 kilometers of road in the Maoist haven amidst fatal protests spoke volumes of the vow.
The inaccessible Naxal-affected areas of Bastar, where it was difficult to walk, now has roads, electricity, education and health facilities. But till a few years ago, all these basic facilities were a dream for the people here. The administration has tried to make this dream a reality.
To give speed to the development works, 28 security forces camps have been set up in the Naxal-affected areas of Bastar in the last two years. With the establishment of these camps, development works have been accelerated in Naxal-affected areas.
Since December 2018, 21 roads have been built in Naxal-affected areas. Remote areas are being connected through a network of about 700 km of roads such as Bijapur-Awapalli-Jagrgunda Road, Narayanpur-Palli-Barsur Road, Antagarh-Bedma Road, Chintanapalli-Nayapara Road, Chintal Nar-Madai Guda Road, Konta-Golla Palli Road, etc.
At the same time, 450 km of roads have been completed in the extreme Naxal areas of Bastar during the lockdown period due to coronavirus. 132 bridge-culverts have also been constructed. These roads are built in areas which were held by Naxals. Chindanar Bridge, one of the four major bridges under construction on the Indravati River, along with smaller bridges, is almost complete. The bridge will open to the general public by the last week of June.
With the formation of this, the way of the forests of Abujhmad from Dantewada will be opened. Road work is going on across the river. With the construction of this road, a dozen villages including Karka, Handwara will be added.
In order to curb Naxalism in Bastar, the strategy adopted by the security forces to set up camps in the affected areas has now restricted Naxals in a smaller area. Most of these camps have been set up in such inaccessible areas, where development was unable to reach due to the fear of Naxalites.
Now, roads are being constructed rapidly in these areas, traffic is getting smooth, government schemes are reaching the villagers in an effective manner, the landscape of interior areas is also changing now.
Bastar Inspector General of Police Sundararaj P said that the life of tribals had changed with the establishment of new camps. Four bridges are being built on the Indravati River. Since independence, till now there were only 3 bridges in 200 km on Indravati River, which will be increased to seven by next year. Similarly, the Palli-Barsur Road, Basaguda-Jagrgunda Road, Usur-Pameed Road, which have been closed for the last 30 years, have opened with the help of camps by security forces.
