File photo of Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.
The Interior Ministry had assigned seven additional CRPF battalions to Chhattisgarh in 2018 and it was decided to deploy them in southern Bastar.
- PTI
- Last update: September 4, 2020 2:03 PM IST
- FOLLOW US:
RaipurChhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday asked the Center to send seven battalions of CRPF, which were sanctioned by the state in 2018, for deployment to strengthen the fight against the Naxal threat. An official said that Baghel, in a letter to the Union Interior Minister Amit Shah, also requested the installation of 1,028 mobile towers in the Naxal-affected areas, which have already been approved for the state, to improve telecommunications connectivity. .
In the letter, Baghel has sought the cooperation of the Centers for the effective implementation of state strategies to eliminate Naxalism, the public relations department official said. The Union Ministry of the Interior had assigned seven additional battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to Chhattisgarh in 2018 and it was decided to deploy them in the southern Bastar region most affected by the Naxal, which comprises the Sukma districts. and Bijapur, Baghel said in the report. lyrics.
A CRPF battalion consists of about 1,000 personnel. 10 CRPF battalions have been known to have been withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir and in this case providing the seven sanctioned battalions to the state immediately will aid in the effective implementation of anti-Naxal operations, he led.
According to CRPF officials, 33 battalions of the paramilitary force, including its elite unit, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), are currently deployed in the state for counterinsurgency operations. Baghel said as many as 1,028 mobile towers were previously sanctioned for improving telecommunications in the Naxal-affected districts for the state, whose locations have been finalized and details have been sent to the Interior Ministry (MHA).
These mobile towers will benefit ordinary citizens as well as security forces, the prime minister said. In addition, Baghel requested the organization of a special recruitment rally by the Army for the youth of Bastar.
In addition, additional bastariya battalions of the Central Police Armed Forces can also be formed through which local youth can obtain employment, Baghel added. In particular, in 2018, the CRPF had created a specialized unit, Bastariya, comprising young people from four districts severely affected by the Naxal threat.
Baghel urged Shah to consider undertaking road, bridge and culvert construction with precast materials and advanced technology in the Bastar division to accelerate infrastructure projects in the region. The cooperation of the Center will help the state to gain a decisive advantage in the fight against Naxalism, the CM told the interior minister, according to the official.
.
