'Naxalism on its last legs in Chhattisgarh': Raman Singh hails state govt for development works

Raipur: Naxalism in Chhattisgarh is on its last legs, Chief Minister Raman Singh claimed on Wednesday, saying that Naxals are carrying out sporadic attacks in the state “out of frustration”. Although the Naxal attacks have come down, the detection and checking of the IED blasts remains a difficult task, he said. “One or two sporadic (Naxal-related) incident may happen. They (Naxals) may do such acts once in a while as they are unable to fight face-to-face with the security forces. They are doing such acts out of frustration as there are lots of development activities being undertaken by the state government,” Singh said. “Naxalism is on its last legs,” he said. Singh’s comments come almost a week after an IED blast by Naxals in Sukma killed nine men of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on 13 March. [caption id=“attachment_3962779” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Chhattisgarh chief minister. PTI[/caption] The chief minister said that his government was carrying out various development works in the worst Naxal-affected areas such as Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada. “We are now able to go to areas where it was difficult to reach five years ago. We are able to go to remote areas in Naxal-affected districts on motor bikes and cars. There is good confidence among police personnel and they are doing their best to check Naxalism,” Singh said. He said the state government, in close coordination with the Centre, was carrying out development works — such as construction of roads and bridges — and “we hope that we will soon move forward and things will be alright in the state”. Singh, the longest serving chief minister of the BJP who helmed three governments in Chhattisgarh on the trot, hopes to beat the anti-incumbency factor in the Assembly polls due later in 2018. The chief minister has also started a new initiative “Lok Suraj” that allows him to visit the remote areas of Chhattisgarh, including those inflicted by Naxals, to enquire about villagers’ problems and provide solutions ‘on-the-spot’. He launched the programme on 11 March. Under this programme, Singh pays surprise visits to villages and organises open gatherings. Officials of all departments concerned publicly announce the details of complaints received by them along with the action taken in each case. The move, Singh said, is aimed at improving governance and getting direct feedback on various pro-welfare measures taken by the state government. The programme is scheduled to conclude by the end of March.