For First Time, 41 Villages in Bastar’s Maoist Core Zone to Celebrate Republic Day Without Fear
Of them, 13 are in Bijapur district, 18 in Narayanpur district, and ten are in Sukma district.
Raipur: The entire core zones of Maoists in Bastar, synonymous with the Leftwing extremism for the last three decades, in Chhattisgarh, for the first time, are going to join the nation to celebrate the 76th Republic Day on Monday sans fear of any Naxal threat, police said.
With all the Maoist core zones in Bastar, barring three-four small pockets, falling to the security forces in the past two years, the 40,000 sq km- region will no longer be under the shadow of Maoists while observing the national festivals like Republic Day and the Independence Day, a senior police officer said on Saturday.
“As many as 41 villages, once in the core zone of Maoists, in Bastar are set to join the nation for the first time to celebrate the 76th Republic Day”, Bastar range inspector general of police P Sunderraj told this newspaper on Saturday.
Of them, 13 are in Bijapur district, 18 in Narayanpur district, and ten are in Sukma district.
All these three districts are in south Bastar.
“The recent establishment of security camps in these locations has restored confidence, governance, and public participation. This transformation follows sustained security operations and community support, including the neutralization of around two dozen top Maoists such Basavaraju, K Ramachandra Reddy and K Satyanarayan Reddy in recent times”, he said.
A senior police officer exuded confidence that like the previous year, this time too, Bastar will remain free of incidents of black flag hoisting by Naxals anywhere in the region.
According to him, there are still three-four small pockets in Bastar where Maoists have influence.
In the next two months, these pockets will be free of Maoist influence after establishment of new security camps in these areas, he added.
These pockets are in dense forests, which are being used as the hideouts by the Maoists, fleeing from security forces, he said.
The Centre has set a deadline of March 31 this year to end Naxalism in the country.
