India Flag Raised In Eight Maoist-Affected Chhattisgarh Villages After Long Wait

For the first time in the history of Chhattisgarh, the police, along with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), hoisted the Indian national flag in eight Maoist-affected villages in the Bastar region.

These villages have witnessed significant bloodshed since the formation of the state in 2000. Previously, the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) used to hoist black and red flags in these areas.

Following this year's Republic Day on 26 January, security forces from the state and central government established eight police camps in remote locations across Kanker, Bijapur, and Sukma districts.

Bijapur and Sukma districts, in particular, are considered war zones.

The eight villages where these camps were set up are Silger Nala, Bedre, Tondamarka, and Dabbamarka in Sukma district, Chinnagelur, Timenar, and Hiroli in Bijapur, and Manhakal in Kanker.

In a gesture of goodwill, the police taught the children in these villages about the significance of Independence Day and greeted them with sweets and chocolates, reported The Indian Express.

According to Sundarraj P, the Inspector-General of Police for the Bastar region, over the past 23 years, more than 160 jawans and around 120 civilians have made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against left-wing extremism in and around these eight villages.

With the establishment of the new security camps, the villagers were able to experience the joy of celebrating a national festival in their own locality by hoisting the tricolour flag, Sundarraj said.

This achievement was made possible due to the government's three-pronged Triveni plan of vishwas (faith), vikas (development), and suraksha (security), police reportedly said.

Unfortunately, this year, 20 security personnel and 15 civilians lost their lives in attacks carried out by members of the CPI (Maoists).