News Analysis India

Tag: Bastar

  • Netizens Are Excited For Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s Spine-Chilling Thriller ‘Bastar: The Naxal Story’ | Movies News

    Ever since Vipul Amrutlal Shah announced ‘Bastar: The Naxal Story’, the fans and the audiences have been waiting for another spine-chilling film from the makers and the recently announced release date of 15th March 2024 has piqued the mass’s interest to watch the film. on the cinema halls.

    The first-look posters released by the makers have started chatter among the audiences on social media. After delivering a game-changer film, and one of the biggest blockbusters of the year 2023, ‘The Kerala Story’, Producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, director Sudipto Sen, and actress Adah Sharma are all set to bring another shocking, bold, and true. story to life with ‘Bastar: The Naxal Story’.

    The recently released first-look posters have given insight into the world of the Bastar: The Naxal Story’, and the character of Adah Sharma, as she is playing IG Neerja Madhvan this time in the film which is going to be more raw and bold. than the team’s previous blockbuster ‘The Kerala Story’.

    Also read: Netizens Are Cited For Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s Spine-Chilling Thriller ‘Bastar: The Naxal Story’

    The film is said to be the maker’s journey to cover the unexposed truth and the stories that no one dared to present. The impact of the posters is even more than ‘The Kerala Story’ and the film has been added to the audience’s wishlist.

    Here are some of the netizen’s reactions on social media, which show the film’s mettle and the buzz among the masses:

    Praising the poster of the film, a netizen wrote on social media by saying: “#BastartheNaxalStory ka poster aaya Jo ki khaufnak hai. Ye poster Aisa bhayanak hai to fir film kya bhayankar hogi.”

    The poster of #BastartheNaxalStory came which is horrifying. This poster is so terrible, then what will the film do? pic.twitter.com/3bCyIWMT3q

    — Sathish Nanban VS (@sathish_offical) January 17, 2024

    Linking the film with the political party, a netizen wrote, “#Bastar movie will expose the Congress party? Lot has happened in chattisgarh and Bastar area… controversial for sure.”

    #Bastar movie will expose the Congress party? Lot has happened in chattisgarh and Bastar area… controversial for sure. pic.twitter.com/QczUrReWVi — Shekhar (@Shekhar__O7) January 17, 2024

  • Chhattisgarh polls: 120 villages in Bastar to have own voting booths, first time since Independence

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: For the first time since Independence, residents of more than 120 interior villages in Chhattisgarh’s Naxalite-hit Bastar region will get a chance to vote in their own settlements in the next month’s assembly polls as new polling stations will be set up at these places, which were earlier Maoist strongholds, officials said.

    The authorities are hailing the development as the victory of “ballot over bullet” as earlier voters from most of these villages had to trek 8 to 10 kilometres, crossing hills and rivulets, to cast their vote, making it difficult for them to enthusiastically participate in the electoral process.

    Officials say the new polling stations in interior pockets, which were once considered Naxal bastions, indicate the improving security scenario and strengthening democratic system in Bastar Region.

    Bastar division, comprising seven districts, has 12 assembly segments which will see voting in the first phase of two-phased elections on November 7.

    “More than 126 new polling stations would be established in Bastar region for voting on November 7. The majority of these new polling stations are located in the erstwhile Naxal stronghold areas in interiors,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Bastar range Sundarraj P said.

    “These new polling stations will be narrating the story about the triumph of ‘ballot over bullet’ to the future generations in Bastar region,” he said.

    Of the 126 new booths, 15 are located in Kanker assembly constituency, 12 in Antagarh, five in Bhanupratappur (Kanker district), 20 in Konta (Sukma district), 14 in Chitrakot, four in Jagdalpur, one in Bastar (Bastar district), 13 in Kondagaon, 19 in Keshkal (Kondagaon district), nine in Narayanpur, eight in Dantewada and six in Bijapur, he said.

    Setting up of more than 65 new security camps (of both state police and central armed police forces) in the last five years in the region has resulted in a remarkable change in the ground situation, thereby helping in establishing booths in remote villages, he said.

    These new polling stations are an indication of the improving security scenario and strengthening democratic system in Bastar, the IG added.

    According to police officials, polling booths could not be set up in the past due to difficult geographical terrain and Maoist threats in these areas.

    Palo Markam, a tribal woman from Chandameta village, earlier said she had to trek for about 8 kilometres crossing hilly terrain to reach Chhindgur village to cast her vote, but now she is happy that she can vote in her own village.

    ALSO READ | Remove 2 collectors, 3 SPs immediately: ECI to Chhattisgarh

    Chandameta is among four villages in the Jagdalpur constituency, where polling stations have been set up for the first time.

    Chandameta, which was once considered to be the fort of Left Wing Extremism (LWE), is located on the foot of Tulsi Dongri hills on the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, around 65 kilometres away from Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district.

    “Earlier, we had to go to Chhindgur, 8 kilometres away, to cast our vote. There was no road so one had to go via dirt tracks. The road was built just a year ago. We are very happy to have a polling booth in our village. We will vote for the one who will work for our development,” Markam said.

    Shyam Kawasi, another resident of the village expressed similar sentiments and said several voters from his village didn’t take interest in casting their votes as the polling booth was around 8 km away and there was no road facility.

    This time the entire village is excited to take part in the festival of democracy, he added.

    “Villagers of Chandameta had requested the district administration to set up a polling station in their village. After security forces camped in the village last year, the district administration moved swiftly with the developmental works there. The road connecting the village, school and a health centre were built. Electrification work of the village is in progress,” Bastar Collector Vijay Dayaram K said.

    ALSO READ  | Chhattisgarh: Congress, BJP in direct fight in 2-phase polls

    Most of the families in Chandameta, which has a population of 432, had a member who was associated with Naxal formations in the area before the police camp was established there, he said.

    For the first time after Independence, the tricolour was hoisted in the village on August 15 last year.

    Now, the villagers will cast their vote for the first time after Independence in their own village at the new polling booth, he said.

    The village has 290 voters – 148 male and 142 female – he said, adding, “We are prepared to hold the election peacefully and successfully.”

    Twelve constituencies falling in Naxalite-affected Bastar division and eight constituencies in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Rajnandgaon, Khairgarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai and Kabirdham districts in the Congress-ruled state will go to polls in the first phase.

    The remaining 70 constituencies will see polling in the second phase on November 17.

    The counting of votes will be done on December 3.

    ALSO READ | EC announces poll schedule for MP, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

    RAIPUR: For the first time since Independence, residents of more than 120 interior villages in Chhattisgarh’s Naxalite-hit Bastar region will get a chance to vote in their own settlements in the next month’s assembly polls as new polling stations will be set up at these places, which were earlier Maoist strongholds, officials said.

    The authorities are hailing the development as the victory of “ballot over bullet” as earlier voters from most of these villages had to trek 8 to 10 kilometres, crossing hills and rivulets, to cast their vote, making it difficult for them to enthusiastically participate in the electoral process.

    Officials say the new polling stations in interior pockets, which were once considered Naxal bastions, indicate the improving security scenario and strengthening democratic system in Bastar Region.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Bastar division, comprising seven districts, has 12 assembly segments which will see voting in the first phase of two-phased elections on November 7.

    “More than 126 new polling stations would be established in Bastar region for voting on November 7. The majority of these new polling stations are located in the erstwhile Naxal stronghold areas in interiors,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Bastar range Sundarraj P said.

    “These new polling stations will be narrating the story about the triumph of ‘ballot over bullet’ to the future generations in Bastar region,” he said.

    Of the 126 new booths, 15 are located in Kanker assembly constituency, 12 in Antagarh, five in Bhanupratappur (Kanker district), 20 in Konta (Sukma district), 14 in Chitrakot, four in Jagdalpur, one in Bastar (Bastar district), 13 in Kondagaon, 19 in Keshkal (Kondagaon district), nine in Narayanpur, eight in Dantewada and six in Bijapur, he said.

    Setting up of more than 65 new security camps (of both state police and central armed police forces) in the last five years in the region has resulted in a remarkable change in the ground situation, thereby helping in establishing booths in remote villages, he said.

    These new polling stations are an indication of the improving security scenario and strengthening democratic system in Bastar, the IG added.

    According to police officials, polling booths could not be set up in the past due to difficult geographical terrain and Maoist threats in these areas.

    Palo Markam, a tribal woman from Chandameta village, earlier said she had to trek for about 8 kilometres crossing hilly terrain to reach Chhindgur village to cast her vote, but now she is happy that she can vote in her own village.

    ALSO READ | Remove 2 collectors, 3 SPs immediately: ECI to Chhattisgarh

    Chandameta is among four villages in the Jagdalpur constituency, where polling stations have been set up for the first time.

    Chandameta, which was once considered to be the fort of Left Wing Extremism (LWE), is located on the foot of Tulsi Dongri hills on the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, around 65 kilometres away from Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district.

    “Earlier, we had to go to Chhindgur, 8 kilometres away, to cast our vote. There was no road so one had to go via dirt tracks. The road was built just a year ago. We are very happy to have a polling booth in our village. We will vote for the one who will work for our development,” Markam said.

    Shyam Kawasi, another resident of the village expressed similar sentiments and said several voters from his village didn’t take interest in casting their votes as the polling booth was around 8 km away and there was no road facility.

    This time the entire village is excited to take part in the festival of democracy, he added.

    “Villagers of Chandameta had requested the district administration to set up a polling station in their village. After security forces camped in the village last year, the district administration moved swiftly with the developmental works there. The road connecting the village, school and a health centre were built. Electrification work of the village is in progress,” Bastar Collector Vijay Dayaram K said.

    ALSO READ  | Chhattisgarh: Congress, BJP in direct fight in 2-phase polls

    Most of the families in Chandameta, which has a population of 432, had a member who was associated with Naxal formations in the area before the police camp was established there, he said.

    For the first time after Independence, the tricolour was hoisted in the village on August 15 last year.

    Now, the villagers will cast their vote for the first time after Independence in their own village at the new polling booth, he said.

    The village has 290 voters – 148 male and 142 female – he said, adding, “We are prepared to hold the election peacefully and successfully.”

    Twelve constituencies falling in Naxalite-affected Bastar division and eight constituencies in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Rajnandgaon, Khairgarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai and Kabirdham districts in the Congress-ruled state will go to polls in the first phase.

    The remaining 70 constituencies will see polling in the second phase on November 17.

    The counting of votes will be done on December 3.

    ALSO READ | EC announces poll schedule for MP, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

  • Significant drop in naxal activities in Bastar: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday claimed that naxal incidents have significantly declined in the Bastar region of the state.

    His government was ready to hold talks with the rebels if they expressed faith in the Constitution, he said, speaking to reporters here.

    Asked about reports that Kondagaon district in the Bastar division had been removed from the list of districts affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE), Baghel said naxal-related incidents have been “declining consistently”.

    Earlier, only news reports of naxal attacks dominated the electronic and print media, he said.

    “Through our public welfare schemes, we have succeeded in winning the confidence of people there, which has resulted in pushing the naxals on the backfoot,” the chief minister said.

    “It is a matter of happiness and satisfaction and we don’t want such incidents to take place any more. We want peace and normalcy to return to Bastar. The region will reclaim its earlier identity of peace, brotherhood and tribal brothers and sisters living peacefully with nature. We have been making efforts in this direction,” he said.

    Asked if the state government will take steps to hold talks with the naxals, Baghel said, “I have been saying from the very first day (of his government) that if naxals expressed faith in the Constitution of India, we are ready for talks on any platform”

  • Most of the displaced Bastar tribals not willing to return despite confronting adversity: Officials

    By Express News Service

    CHHATTISGARH: Chhattisgarh government officials during their visit to adjoining states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP) to carry out ground survey were surprised to learn that the tribal families, who fled from Bastar owing to the Maoist violence to the neighbouring states some 15 years ago, are not inclined to return despite the persisting fear they nurture about their “insecure” future.

    Officials from Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma after a directive from the state government had met the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Bastar following the reports on they being allegedly forced by the authorities in the adjoining states to evacuate the areas they have inhabited. So far the team of Bijapur and Sukma have begun the exercise.

    “Telangana government is carrying out their plantation drive. The Bastar tribals who initially had settled in a restricted tract of deep forests have further cut down the forests to expand their settlement and also increased the areas of farming. With more and more forests being destroyed by the displaced tribals, the Telangana government is evidently not happy and had expressed concern. The tribals have been served with notices to remain confined to their settled (occupied) areas and avoid further damage to the forests”, said a senior officer from Bastar.

    The officials told TNIE that only a small percentage of displaced Bastar tribals are willing to return to Chhattisgarh if assured of a secured and safe area to live.

    ALSO READ: Maoist, terror links on radar in Bhagalpur case

    “Majority of the displaced tribals have acquired voter ID, Aadhaar, and ration card and are not so keen to return. But they want the status as the Scheduled Tribes and the ownership of land invoking a clause on ‘in situ rehabilitation of the Forest Rights Act 2005.

    Such demands and associated benefits are possible only in Chhattisgarh where they are domiciled. Those recognised as tribals in Chhattisgarh or Meghalaya will not be acknowledged the same in Telangana or AP”, the official team that visited Telangana state said.

    According to an estimate, the displaced Bastar tribals have settled in over 200 villages of Telangana and AP, the officers added.

    The peace activists have been seeking their (tribals’) rehabilitation in places that should be officially regularised. As they had migrated during the controversial Salwa Judum (anti-Maoist campaign) launched in Bastar in 2005, the Bastar Adivasi continue to live with their lost identity.

    “Most of them don’t have any valid documents to prove their domicile. It’s a national problem where besides the Centre (home ministry), the judiciary should also intervene for their rehabilitation”, affirmed Shubhranshu Chowdhary the convenor of ‘The New Peace Process’ campaign in Bastar zone.

  • Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel skips Amit Shah’s meet on Left Wing Extremism 

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday skipped a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Left Wing Extremism (LWE).

    The chief ministers of 10 Naxal-hit states, including Chhattisgarh, were invited to the meeting during which Shah was to take stock of the ongoing operations against the ultras and development activities undertaken at the ground level, officials said.

    “Chhattisgarh’s Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain and Director General of Police D M Awasthi have gone to the national capital on the CM’s behalf to attend the meeting,” a public relations department official said.

    Baghel was scheduled to attend a convention of Chandranahu Kurmi Samaj in the state’s Mahasamund district on Sunday afternoon, he said.

    The CM has skipped the crucial meeting at a time when the LWE situation in Chhattisgarh could be a key agenda of discussion as the state has witnessed several deadly attacks on security forces by Naxals in the last few years.

    Senior state officials said the issue of setting up camps of security forces in Bastar, particularly in its southern part that comprises Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada, was likely to be discussed in Shah’s meeting in Delhi on Sunday.

    Construction of roads and other development works in the strife-torn areas of the state were also likely to be discussed, they said.

    Chhattisgarh recorded the highest number of crimes committed by Maoists in 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) annual report released recently.

    As per data of the Chhattisgarh police, the Naxal violence has claimed lives of 1,237 security personnel, mostly belonging to paramilitary forces, and 1,615 civilians from 2001 to June this year in the state.

    During the same period, bodies of 1,027 Naxals were also recovered following encounters with security forces, while 4,552 ultras surrendered.

    The state’s eight districts -, Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, Sukma (all in Bastar region) and Rajnandgaon – are among most Naxal-hit districts in the country, and have been battling the menace for over three decades.

    After assuming charge as the Union home minister, Shah had for the first time visited the insurgency-hit Bastar division in April this year, after 22 security personnel were killed and 31 others injured in a Maoist ambush along the border of the region’s Sukma and Bijapur districts.

    Shah had then held a high-level meeting in Jagdalpur on the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) situation with Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior officials of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

    In January this year, Baghel had chaired a meeting of unified command here to review the security situation and development works in Naxal-affected areas of the state.

    The CM had then said his government’s three-pronged strategy of trust, development and security helped in pushing Naxals on the back foot, and success will be achieved in cornering ultras in the coming days.

  • CRPF head constable killed by ‘accidental fire’ from service rifle in Bastar

    By Express News Service

    RAIPUR: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel was killed and his colleague injured following an accidental firing from the former’s INSAS assault rifle, inside a passenger bus in the Maoist-affected Bijapur district, south Chhattisgarh.

    “It seems the service rifle of head constable Trilok Singh of CRPF’s 229 battalion, owing to some jerk inside a bus, got accidentally discharged. It created panic among the passengers inside the bus but they were safe. The bullet, after hitting Trilok’s head, pierced through the roof of the bus and injured another jawan who was sitting on top of the bus for security reasons. Singh later succumbed to his injuries”, said Kamal Lochan Kashyap, Bijapur superintendent of police.

    The injured personnel was identified as Rajendra Singh. The jawans were proceeding on a leave, the police officials said.

    “A probe has been ordered into the incident”, the SP added. 

  • Chhattisgarh: Cops launch mega plantation drive in Naxal-hit Bastar ‘to connect with nature, locals’

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Police in Chhattisgarh’s Naxal-affected Bastar division, who have been fighting the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) for the past three decades, have embarked on a mega tree plantation drive aimed at strengthening the bond with nature as well as local population.

    The nine-day long plantation drive named ‘Pothla Uraskana’, which means ‘plantation festival’ in Gondi dialect, was rolled out on Sunday, a senior police official said.

    “During the drive that will conclude on the ‘World Tribal Day’ on August 9, around 11,000 trees and saplings will be planted at around 250 premises belonging to police in seven districts of the division,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.

    These premises include police stations, camps, housing colonies and police officers’ workplaces, he said.

    Bastar division comprises seven districts – Bastar, Kanker, Kondgaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma.

    “The drive has multi-pronged objective. It will serve as a medium for the police personnel to strengthen the bond with nature as well as the native population by involving locals in the campaign,” the IGP said.

  • Chhattisgarh HC stays procurement of jaggery meant for Bastar tribals

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court has stayed the tender process on a petition alleging extensive irregularities in the supply of jaggery under the public distribution system (PDS) for the poor malnourished population in tribal Bastar.

    A division bench comprising of Chief Justice in-charge Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Parth Prateem Sahu has issued a notice to the Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies Corporation to respond after staying the tender process.

    “There are gross irregularities in the tender process which were floated on 10 April this year. The firm that declares supplying of sugar in its affidavit at higher price and didn’t even qualify on various other requisite parameters has been cited to be qualified. This is ridiculous as the firm that actually qualifies has been unlawfully rejected. Such wrongdoing will further incur additional loss of over Rs 17 crore to the state”, said Satish Gupta, the counsel for the petitioner Ambey industries.

    The scheduled date of the next hearing in the case has been fixed on 29 June.

    To counter the malnourishment among the tribal population in the Bastar zone, south Chhattisgarh, the state government has launched the ‘Madhur Gud Yojana’, in which two kg jaggery per family is distributed through the PDS to 6.98 lakh ration card holders every month. Besides jaggery, the Bastar population also gets rice, gram, salt and pulses.

  • Woman Naxal killed in Chhattisgarh encounter; AK-47 rifle, pistols seized 

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: A woman Naxal was killed in a gun-battle with security forces inside a forest in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh on Friday, a senior police officer said.

    Three weapons and a huge cache of Maoist camping material were recovered from the encounter site, he said.

    The gunfight took place around 8 am in the forest of Chandameta-Pyarbhat villages when joint teams of security forces were out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.

    The operation was launched based on the inputs about the presence of some members belonging to Maoists’ Darbha division, which has been instrumental in carrying out several deadly attacks in Bastar, along the borders of Bastar and Surkma districts, around 350 kms away from capital Raipur, he said.

    Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG) units from Bastar, Dantewada and Sukma and CRPF 80th battalion were involved in the operation, he said.

    The exchange of fire took place between the DRG team of Bastar and the Naxals, he said.

    “After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a woman Naxal clad in ‘uniform’ along with one AK-47 rifle, two pistols and a huge amount of camping materials were recovered from the spot,” he said.

    The identity of the killed cadre was yet to be ascertained, the IG said, adding that a search is still underway in the nearby areas.

  • Human rights activists ask Chhattisgarh govt to resolve tribals’ issues in conflict zone democratically

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Human rights activists have asked the Bhupesh Bhagel government to respond to the pressing issues of tribal villagers inhabiting the conflict zone of Bastar in south Chhattisgarh and resolve their problems democratically, which they have cited as missing.

    They blamed the government for putting lives of the local population at risk amid Covid-19 pandemic by “allowing the provocative decisions to be taken against the tribals and forcing them to fight for their rights and issues”.

    “There should not be pressure mounted on the Adivasi community against their wishes and in a democracy the issues fought by the local villagers should be addressed democratically.

    We were told by the locals that the land where the security camp at Silger (in strife-torn Sukma) is built was taken covertly and without the due consent from the owners (villagers) or the Gram Sabha”, said Bela Bhatia, human rights activist, after meeting with the Chief Minister in Raipur.  

    She was accompanied by other social activists to raise the concerns of the tribal villagers with the CM. Later they also met Governor Anusuiya Uike.

    During their interactions, the activists highlighted the burning issues on alleged “fake encounters reported, the controversial roles of the earlier special police officers (SPOs) now been performed by the district reserve guards (DRG- comprising of local tribal youths and surrendered Maoists) and the tribals’ complaints not readily accepted by the police in Bastar”.

    The rights group stated that the administration role has been usurped by the police and security forces in the insurgency-hit areas as they narrated to the government the reasons behind the Silger agitation going on for so long.

    The tribals’ protest against CRPF security camp at Silger entered its 28th day on Wednesday, even as all efforts by the administration and the police to pacify them go in vain.

    The jungle warfare experts have been advocating that ‘winning the heart and mind of tribals in the visual war zone of Chhattisgarh is paramount’.

    “The people remain at the centre of gravity when it comes to combating the Maoists and focusing on development”, affirmed Brigadier (retired) B K Ponwar, the guerrilla warfare expert.

    The chief minister reiterated that the state government is ready to meet the development-related needs of the people in Bastar.