Raipur: As a part of the multi-pronged strategy to deal with Naxal menace, the Chhattisgarh Police have set up a camp in a strategically important village in the Maoist-hit Bastar district to facilitate construction of a road in the area.
Once the road is developed, it will not only curb Naxal activities, but will also prove beneficial for tribals living in remote villages of the area, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.
The police camp, set up in January this year in Bodli village, around 350 km from the state capital Raipur, is located on the convergenceof boundaries of five districts – Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Kondgaon.
“The Bodli camp would be a role model as a part of the three-pronged strategy of ‘vishwas vikas suraksha’ (trust, development and security) of the government to tackle Naxal problem,” the official said.
Bodli lies on the erstwhile State Highway No.5, which once connected Bhilai in Durg district to Kistaram in the extreme south of the state in Sukma district, via Dallirajhra, Narayanapur and Dantewada towns, he said.
“With the entry of Maoists in the area, the route gradually collapsed and practically became non-existent, depriving the villagers of connectivity with the block concerned and the district headquarters,” he said.
After learning about the plight of villagers, the Bastar police decided to re-establish the 54-km-long Palli-Barsur axis on this route, he said.
As many as six security camps were set up between Palli (Narayanpur) and Barsur (Dantewada) to ensure security to the construction works. Of them, the camp at Bodli, located on the epicentre of this axis, is the most crucial one, the senior police official said.
So far, construction has been completed on about 20 km route out of the 54-km-long stretch. The remaining 34 km is expected to be covered by the end of this year, he said.
The route, located in the heart of Maoist stronghold, will not only curb the activities of rebels but will also be beneficial for thousands of tribals residing in remote villages in the area, the police official said.
PTI