Armed forces earn trust- Puvarti village turns from “Guns to Roses”

• Native village of top Maoist commander Hidma

Raipur. Puvarti and its nearby villages, which come under Jagargunda police station, were considered a Maoist stronghold in Dandakaranya. The Puvarti village is the native village of Hidma, the top commander of the Maoists, and PLGA battalion commander Deva. These areas served as hubs for Naxalite activities and have been deprived of development work and basic facilities due to the Naxalite menace. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, the state government has intensified its efforts to foster development and eradicate naxalism in the Naxal-affected areas. The armed forces have established 14 new security camps in Naxalite-affected areas. A security camp, jointly operated by the CRPF, STF, Cobra, DRG, Bastar Fighter, and local police, was set up in the Puvarti of Jagargunda police station on February 16. The camp aims to provide security and essential amenities to the locals. Following the security camp’s establishment in Puvarti, a health camp was organised and an appeal was made to villagers to undergo health check-ups. Notably, Hidma’s mother and Deva’s mothers also underwent health check-ups.

It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Sai persists in advancing against maoism through the five-pronged approach of development (vikas), trust (vishwas), security (suraksha), justice (nyaya), and service (seva). Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Vijay Sharma is actively interacting with armed forces personnel and boosting their morale. Administrative officials visited Puvarti village to instill trust among the locals and share the upcoming plan of the ‘Niyad Nellanar’ Yojana for providing essential services in the Naxal-affected areas.

• Mothers of Hidma and Deva, along with many villagers, came for a checkup in the health camp

‘Niyad Nellanar’, taken from the local Dandami term meaning ‘Your Good Village’, will extend essential services like education, health, drinking water, and welfare benefits through security camps. The ambit of these benefits will be extended to the villages situated within a 5-km radius of security camps. These security camps are multi-faceted development camps wherein the government is ensuring the availability of over 25 basic amenities besides extending the benefits of 32 individual-focused government schemes in the Naxal-affected villages. The ‘Niyad Nellanar’ Yojana is focused on emulating the Centre’s JANMAN Yojana in the Naxal-affected villages. A budget of Rs 20 crore has been allocated for the ‘Niyad Nellanar’ Yojana.

IG, Bastar Range Sundarraj P. stated that 14 new security camps have been set up in naxal-affected areas, which include Palanar, Dumripalanar, Chintavagu, Kavardgaon, Mutavendi, and Gundam in Bijapur district; Muller, Paria, Salatong, Mukrajkonda, Duled, Tekalgudem, and Puvarti in Sukma district; and Panidobir in Kanker district. The relatives of the top Maoist cadre and other villagers have participated in the health camp organised in the newly established security camp in Puvarti. All these initiatives by the armed forces and administration are showing positive results through the participation of locals in the health camp.

In Bastar, authorities have intensified efforts aligned with the state government’s five-pronged approach of development (vikas), trust (vishwas), security (suraksha), justice (nyaya), and service (seva). The police, security forces, and local administration are committed to liberating villagers from Naxal terrorism while extending government development and welfare schemes.

It is noteworthy that senior policemen and CRPF officials, including Sukma SP Kiran G. Chavan, Bijapur SP Shri Jitendra Kumar Yadav, DIG Dantewada Range Kamlochan Kashyap, DIG CRPF Sukma Arvind Rai and DIG CRPF Bijapur SK Mishra have been at the ground to boost the morale of security forces in setting up camps in the interior areas along the inter-district border. They are earning the trust of villagers towards the government and administration.

In Chhattisgarh’s fight against Naxalism, Central and State Police forces have been deployed with their new camps in Jagargunda’s highly sensitive and Naxal-affected areas, acting as a protective barrier for residents. Their proactive presence and engagement with the community are earning praise and fostering goodwill. This approach is anticipated to yield positive results in the ongoing fight against Maoist insurgencies.