CRPF seeks tribals' support to thwart evil designs of Maoists

Raipur, Feb 27: With an aim of countering the 'anti-developmental' propaganda of Maoists, the CRPF has devised a new strategy of putting up hoardings in local dialect to seek tribals' support in construction of a National Highway in Chhattisgarh's worst insurgency-hit Sukma district.

Tasked to ensure security for the widening and relaying of the 76 km-long Sukma-Konta road —- a patch on National Highway 30 that connects Jagdalpur (district headquarters of Bastar) to Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh —- the Central Reserve Police Force is leaving no stone unturned to make sure of any untoward incident during the ongoing project.

"For the first time such an initiative has been taken to counter the Naxals' anti-development propaganda. The objective is to make people aware of how construction of this road will be fruitful for them and their future generations," CRPF's 2nd Battalion Commandant VVN Prasanna told PTI.

The unit is among five battalions of the paramilitary force tasked to ensure security for the construction of the Sukma-Dornapal-Konta route in the self-proclaimed 'liberated zone' of Maoists.

The ultras have been claiming that the construction of roads would "distort the culture of tribals" and people from urban areas will barge in and snatch their land. They don't allow any developmental activity and even torch the vehicles engaged in construction work, Prasanna said.

"But now, they can no more misguide the people who want education, better treatment and communication facilities in their areas which are only possible through better connectivity," he added. The flexi-boards being put up display pictures of a well built four-lane road with a message in local 'Gondi' dialect seeking the support of tribals. One of the messages says: Support in road construction, be a contributor in the development of your region. Gondi is a largely spoken dialect of the region and more convincing. But, we will also put banners and posters in Hindi, Prasanna said.

PTI