‘Fight against Maoist insurgency in final phase, full credit to CRPF’: Amit Shah in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar

“In the last nine years, CRPF fought a fierce battle against Maoist insurgency and we won every time. We not only pushed them back but due to the insurgency, a blockade was created for development. They did not allow us to provide roads, schools, mobile towers, free rice, PDS hospitals and college was out of the question. The work of removing the obstacles to provide all this development was done by CRPF. As home minister of this country, I give full credit to the CRPF’s brave jawans. They also encouraged local police and created a new force,” Shah added.

Shah said the Bastariya battalion has been formed and 400 locals have been recruited. Shah said that there is a 76 per cent decrease in Naxal activities as compared to 2010. “NIA and ED worked towards ending the funding to Naxal activities. CRPF set up over 110 medical camps in Naxal-affected areas and provided help to 18,000 tribals with free medicines worth crores. Out of the 70,000 km of (planned) roads, about 11,000 km of roads have been made, 2,343 mobile towers have been erected and are being converted to 4G and 1,258 accounts have been opened in five banks. About 47 ITI and 68 skill development centres have been opened,” the home minister said.

Shah also thanked Akashvani and Doordarshan for starting a weekly news bulletin in the Halbi language. “This will help us strengthen our local language and adivasis can listen to news (from) across the country and the world in their language and connect with the world,” he said.

Shah also praised and thanked the 75 CRPF women personnel who embarked on a bike ride on March 9 from Delhi and travelled over 1,800 km to reach Bastar. “I thank you for displaying bravery, which will be a guiding light for many women,” he said.