Table of Contents
What has happened?
- The Chhattisgarh government is set to open eight new police camps by the end of this year to strengthen its hold in theMaoist strongholds.
In which districts?
- According to the government, the camps will come up in- Dantewada, Kondagaon, Bijapur and Sukma districts.
- These are part of the 15 police camps that the government has planned to set up this year.
- The first 7 of these were established in the districts named, apart from Narayanpur, before the Covid-19 outbreak.
- 5 more such camps will come up by March 2021.
- Got has refused to disclose the exact areas where the new camps will come up, citing safety and securityof the local populace.
Why these camps?
- “Innocent villagers are being needlessly killed by Maoists on the pretext of being informers.
- Protection of villagers is the responsibility of the government,” Home Minister.
- This year the Maoists have murdered around 50 villagers so far.
- “Setting up police camps in Maoist-held areas is an important part of the state government’s anti-Naxal policy.
- Once these camps open, the Naxalites’ stranglehold in this area will start to weaken on its own and other development works could also be carried out.”
Protest from villagers
- However, the latest move has faced some resistance in the villages of the areas where these camps are supposed to come up.
What police says?
- Police officers said ‘symbolic protests’ to these camps are being carried out under pressure from the Maoists,
- Adding that this pressure on the villagers will diminish considerably once the police camps start functioning.
- “The extent of Naxalite pressure on the villagers can be gauged from the fact that
- The propaganda related to the so-called protest is being spread through Maoist leaflets themselves.
- Naxalites want to take advantage of their terror among the villagers,” said the IG.
About police camps
- The practice of establishing such permanent police camps started in 2016, when 14 camps had been set up in the state.
- These included camps of the Chhattisgarh Police, the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) and the Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF).
- A total of 130 security personnel are deployed in each of these camps.
Objective
- As part of the anti-Naxal policy of the state as well as the central government, these camps have been established mainly in areas that have heavy Maoist presence.
- Their main objective is to establish suzerainty of the state in the Naxal-dominated areas because the government has almost no access to them until such camps are opened.
- These camps also have the responsibility to extend security cover for construction of critical infrastructure, such as large bridges and strategically important roads.
- Along with this, once the camps start functioning, the government is also able to provide basic facilities such as ration shops, anganwadi centres and implement other development schemes.
Camps till now?
- About 55 camps of CRPF, Indian Reserve Battalion and State Police have been established in various Naxalite dominated areas of the state during the last 4 years.
- Out of these, 35-40 camps belong to the State Police and 15-20 camps are set up by CRPF and Indian Reserve Battalion.
Q) Which of the following statements regarding LWE in India are correct?
1- A Left Wing Extremism division was created in 2006 under defence ministry to effectively address the insurgency.
2- At present 90 districts in 11 states in the country are considered LWE.
3- Security Related Expenditure Scheme was launched in 2015 to aid the fight against LWE.
- 1 & 2 only
- 2 only
- 2 & 3 only
- All of the above
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