Bastar: On the occasion of 76th Independence day, the tricolour was hoisted for the first time after 75 years at the naxal-hit Chandameta village of Bastar. During a conversation with ETV Bharat, a CRPF official said they covered those villages where the national flag had never been hoisted since Independence due to various reasons including the Maoist threat.
"The villagers were amazed to see the national flag. Their response was superb as they not only received flags with warmth but also listened patiently to security forces when they explained to them the importance of Independence Day and the national flag," said a local resident. Security personnel asked the villagers to hoist the tricolour in their houses.
The move also helped security forces to improve relations with locals living in the shadow of Left Wing extremism. Thirty-eight battalions of CRPF, the largest paramilitary force, are deployed in Chhattisgarh, extensively in Bastar, for counter-insurgency operations. One battalion comprises around 1,000 personnel.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday said the three-pronged strategy of "trust, development and security" played a crucial role in effectively checking Naxalism in the state. In his Independence Day address to the state after hoisting the national flag at the Police Parade ground in Raipur, Baghel said:
"We have achieved success in containing Naxalism which we had received in legacy (from previous governments). This success is the victory of democratic beliefs and the three-pronged strategy of 'vishwas, vikas and suraksha' (trust, development and security) has played a crucial role in achieving it."
Chhattisgarh has been fighting the menace of Left Wing Extremism for more than three decades. For years, the Naxals have boycotted Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations in the interior villages of Chhattisgarh and used to hoist black flags instead. In recent years, however, normalcy has slowly begun to return to these interior areas, with the locals braving the Naxal threat to hoist the tricolour.
