Hemant Soren visits former Maoist hotbed Budha Pahar, launches Rs 100 cr project

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday visited the Budha Pahar, a former Maoist hotbed situated near the border with Chhattisgarh, where he launched a development project worth Rs 100 crore.

Palamu:Hemant Soren became the first Jharkhand Chief Minister to visit the Budha Pahar, a former Maoist hotbed situated near the border with Chhattisgarh, where he launched a development project worth Rs 100 crore, officials said. Soren arrived at the hilltop on Friday where the CRPF has now set up a camp, they said.

The Rs 100 crore Budha Pahar Development Project (BPDP) will cover 11 villages of Tehri panchayat in Garhwa and 11 villages of Aksi panchayat in Latehar, the officials said. If need be, this amount can be increased to Rs 500 crore, Soren said. During the last three months, benefits of schemes worth over Rs 4 crore have been provided to villagers in the area, a senior official said.

After it was freed from Maoists, the government launched the Aapki Yojana, Aapki Sarkar, Aapke Dwar', an outreach programme, at Khapri Mahua village to ensure the benefits of welfare schemes can be availed by people there, he said. Soren was accompanied by Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh and Director General of Police Neeraj Sinha, among other top officials.

Soren appealed to the villagers to cooperate and said that nothing should be done which demeans tribal warriors. Soren further said under the government's initiative, medical shops will be opened in the village and also the medical shops will be technically connected with the doctors for the betterment of medical conditions in the village.

Minister Mithilesh Thakur said that the government is delighted after Budhapahar was freed from Naxalism as India was freed by the Britishers. Budha Pahar, located along the Latehar and Garhwa districts, 150 km from the state capital Ranchi, was freed from the red rebels' control by security forces after over three decades. The exercise was carried out through three special operations that were launched at the beginning of April 2022.

State DGP Neeraj Sinha announced that a memorial for martyred soldiers will be built at Budha Pahar as so far 58 soldiers have been martyred, while 42 villagers have been killed. In the last three years, 1,319 Maoists have been arrested and 31 have been killed. As many as 44 security camps have been established, along with the IDC centre, and the awareness campaign is also being run in the camps.

Earlier, attempts to drive out the red rebels from Budha Pahar did not materialise due to its difficult terrain, they said. Several security personnel and civilians have lost their lives in the area over the years due to Maoist activities, the DGP said. There will be a permanent camp of the security forces at Budha Pahar, added another top police officer.