Palamu (Jharkhand): Palamu Deputy Commissioner A Dodde on Thursday visited the Maoist-affected Palhe, Turkun and Gorho villages of Jharkhand to listen to the people's grievances, officials said. The DC flanked by the subordinate officers visited the far-off villages and had to walk on foot through the hills for two hours due to the lack of an approach road.
The DC held public meetings in the three villages to listen to their grievances. Among the major problems faced by the Maoist-affected villages where many women have joined the Maoist ranks, the villagers took up the closure of schools in the area since 2015-16 and the lack of an approach road. The DC assured the villagers that he will take up the issues with the higher-ups and the schools will be opened soon and an approach road will also be laid.
The DC stayed in the villages for about three hours, during which he listened to the problems of the villagers. The DC also appealed to the youth to shun Naxalism and join the mainstream. He also discussed the road map for development in the villages with the administrative officials. The DC also interacted with the children and elders of the village and sought suggestions for the development of the area.
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He told them that the villagers are being linked with the benefits of various government schemes. Four youths of the village have been selected to be linked to the Chief Minister's Employment Generation Scheme, he said. Significantly, schools Palhe, Turkun and Gorho were merged and shifted to Gamhariadih in 2016-17 due to declining enrollment with more than 450 children affected.
Prasad Kumar, a local boy said that he missed his studies due to the closure of the school, although the situation in the area has improved. His sister was also involved in the Maoist organisation. Now she is out of jail and joined the mainstream. There has been a sudden spurt in the recruitment of girls in Maoist ranks since 2013-14 after a girl named Sunita from the area joined the women's squad of Maoists.
One of these girls Rinki was killed in a police encounter. Rinki's mother said that the girls had gone to the forest to collect firewood and joined the Maoists. When the girls returned after several months, it was found that all had joined the Maoist squad. The villagers said that the Maoists had “taken advantage of the illiteracy of the girls”.
On February 28, 2018, security forces killed four Maoists, including Marwadi Rakesh Bhuiyan, carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakhs, on the Malanga mountain of the Chhatarpur police station area. Two women Maoists were also killed in this encounter. Both women Maoists were residents of the Turkun village. After the encounter, no girl joined the Maoist squad.
