News Analysis India

Tag: Chhattisgarh

  • 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.

  • Schools in Chhattisgarh to reopen for Classes 10, 12 from Monday; parents say govt should have waited

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Classes 10 and 12 of government-run and private schools in Chhattisgarh will reopen from Monday with 50 per cent attendance, for which the prerequisite is that the COVID-19 positivity rate of the district concerned should be one per cent for last seven days.

    However, a state-level body of parents of school students has opposed the move saying the government should have waited for some more time before allowing the schools to reopen, in view of the possible third wave of the pandemic.

    Colleges and schools were shut in the state after the second wave of coronavirus began in March this year.

    The decision to reopen schools was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel recently.

    The school education department had last week announced that the offline classes for Classes 10 and 12 in all private and government schools will begin from August 2.

    It had said that these classes will start only in those districts where the positivity rate of coronavirus was one per cent for seven days.

    The government has also allowed resumption of schools for Classes 1 to 5 and Class 8 subject to certain conditions.

    But physical Classes for Classes 6, 7, 9 and 11 will not be started immediately.

    The students attending physical classes will have to do so on alternate days and those suffer from cough, cold and fever will not be allowed to attend the school.

    Online classes will also be run for school students and there will be no compulsion to attend the off-line classes, it had said.

    In order to restart the physical classes for the students of Classes 1 to 5 and Class 8, it is necessary to get the recommendation from the gram panchayats concerned and the parents committees of respective schools in rural areas, and similar recommendation from local corporators and parent committees is compulsory in urban areas, the order had said.

    However, the decision has not gone down well with the parents’ association, which said the state government should reconsider the decision.

    “The third wave of coronavirus is likely in August and therefore the decision to reopen schools should have been taken next month,” said Kristopher Paul, President of Chhattisgarh Parents Association (CPA).

    Besides, the ongoing monsoon season also causes viral diseases among children and therefore, the government should have waited, he said.

    He alleged that the government has taken the decision in haste to benefit the private school owners.

    Paul said if the state government really wanted to reopen the schools, then it should do so for all classes.

    Renuka Bhuwal, whose daughter studies in Class 5 and son in Class 10 in a private school in Raipur, said that she would not send her children to school as it was not mandatory.

    “Till the picture about the third wave of coronavirus gets clear, we prefer offline classes,” she added.

     

  • Chhattisgarh starts campaign to help convicts eligible for premature release

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh State Legal Service Authority (CGSLSA) and the state jail department have jointly launched a campaign to free those inmates who fulfill the eligibility criteria for premature release of convicts.

    Unmukt is a campaign started as per the directives of the Supreme Court, which had asked Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to launch pilot projects on the issue, an official said on Saturday.

    Necessary instructions have been issued to district judges and chairmen of district legal service authority (DLSAs) to render support to the jail administration for the implementation of the campaign, CGSLSA secretary Siddharth Aggarwal said.

    “Instructions have been issued for timely decision of pending applications of convicts under section 432(2) of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure).

    The campaign will have four stages, starting with timely identification of eligible convicts, and ending with legal aid by CGSLSA to those whose release applications have been rejected,” he said.

  • COVID-19: Chhattisgarh sees 125 cases, 3 deaths; over 42,000 tested

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh on Friday reported 125 COVID-19 cases and three deaths, taking the tally of infections to 10,01,906 and the toll to 13,523, a health official said.

    The number of recoveries reached 9,86,418 after 69 people were discharged from hospitals and 174 completed home isolation during the day, leaving the state with 1,965 active cases, he said.

    “Raipur district recorded eight new cases, taking its caseload to 1,57,666, including 3,138 deaths. Bastar recorded 15 new cases, while Sukma and Kanker saw nine cases each. With 42,714 samples being examined on Friday, the number of tests in the state went up to 1,13,43,815,” he said.

    Over 1.19 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state till Thursday, with 96.97 lakh people getting the first dose and 22.88 lakh getting the second jab as well, officials said.

    Chhattisgarh’s coronavirus figures are as follows: Positive cases 10,01,906, new cases 125, Deaths 13,523, Recovered 9,86,418, Active cases 1,965, Tests today Tests today 42,714, Total tests 1,13,43,815.

  • In a first, Dantewada villagers answer survey questions to help assess Maoist impact in Chhattisgarh

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Gamavara village at Bhansi was earlier cited as among the hardcore areas dominated by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in Dantewada, which is one of the worst Maoist-affected districts of the country. 

    Now, the local inhabitants of Gamavara say that they have been living in peace as no perceptible activity of Maoists or violence have been reported from their village in the last five years.

    This is one among the several observations coming out of the unique survey that is being carried out in Dantewada, to objectively evaluate the severity and extent of the rebels in the region besides checking out the impact on the lives of the local population.

    “The survey will quantitatively monitor the success of anti-Maoist campaign by the district police. We have compiled 10 simple questions for the inhabitants including villagers, staff of the government departments, panchayat members and the local representatives to share their perception on the extremity and influence, if it exists and to what extent, in their areas. This is the first of its kind survey in any Maoist-affected districts where the people’s understanding of the situation assumes significance to ascertain the intensity of the left-wing extremism,” said Abhishek Pallava, Dantewada superintendent of police.

    On an average, around 25 set of questionnaires are randomly filled in from each village covering different segments.

    The survey will be repeated every six months to monitor the change, the SP said. The results will be compiled by the district police. And later to be reviewed bythe district administration that remains optimistic that this inititaive will help plan various developmental activities.

    “We are witnessing enthusiasm among the local population as they are given freedom to air their point of view and share it through a set of questionnaires”, said Sanmati Telami, Renganar woman sarpanch.

    For those who cannot read Hindi, the questions have been set in local Gondi dialect.

    The survey questions seek responses on Maoist-related incidents occurred in last one year, if Maoist-led frontal outfits seen active in village panchayats, whether they are conducting meetings in the village, are the armed rebels halting in the village, imposing their levy, carrying out any programme among the villagers, the security issues in the village, developments etc.

  • Chhattisgarh to provide Rs 6,000 per year to landless families

    By PTI
    RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government will launch a scheme under which landless families will be provided a financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced on Wednesday.

    He was replying to the debate on demand proposals for the first supplementary budget of the financial year 2021-22.

    After the discussion, the supplementary budget of Rs 2,485.59 crore was passed. “Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Bhoomihin Krishi Majdoor Nyay Yojna will be launched, under which the families which do not possess agriculture land and are dependent on agri labour or MGNREGA work (for livelihood) in rural areas will be given assistance of Rs 6,000 per year,” Baghel said.

    Other sections of rural population such as barbers, dhobis (washermen), blacksmiths, priests will also be covered under the scheme, he added.

    The scheme will be implemented from the ongoing financial year with a provision of Rs 200 crore made in the supplementary budget, he said.

    The Centre had consented to buying 60 lakh metric tons of rice from the state but took only 24 lakh MT, and the state government had to auction the remaining stock at a loss, Baghel claimed.

    “Despite this, we have been supporting farmers in every situation, even by taking loans,” he said.

    Lack of certain facilities posed a challenge during the first and second wave of COVID-19 but now the government has been making efforts to ensure availability of better medical facilities across the state, he said, adding that for this a provision of Rs 957 crore has been made for the Health department.

    During the second wave, the state government not only did a good job of managing the situation but also supplied medical oxygen to other states, he noted.

    A provision of Rs 39 crore has been made for the acquisition of private-run Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College in Durg district, he said.

    Earlier in the day, the state government tabled the Chhattisgarh Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College, Durg (Acquisition) Bill, 2021, in the assembly. Discussion on the bill is yet to take place.

    Provision has been also made for the construction of a special jail with the capacity to house 1,500 prisoners at a cost of Rs 126 crore at Nagoi village in Bilaspur district, the CM informed.

  • Chattisgarh: Textbooks on Constitution to instil ‘true nationalism’

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR:  In a fractious ideological battle over ‘your-versus-my nationalism,’ the Chhattisgarh government has come out with school textbooks on the Constitution to “inculcate a feeling of true nationalism through a better understanding of our values and ethos.”

    The state-owned Chhattisgarh Textbook Corporation has begun distributing the books, Bharat Ka Samvidhan, to primary-level students and ‘Hum Bharat Ke Log’ for the higher classes. For English medium schools, the books are titled, ‘We The People’.

    The Bhupesh Baghel government had taken a decision to introduce the Constitution as part of learning in schools from the new academic session. “It is a first-of-its-kind initiative. The Congress believes in inculcating belief in secularism and values as enshrined in our Constitution in order to counter false and distorted nationalist sentiments propagated by vested political interests on social media. The Bharat Ka Sanvidhan will cater to 27 lakh students enrolled from class 1 to 5 and ‘Hum Bharat Ke Log’ to over 15 lakh students from class 9-12, free-of-cost,” said Shailesh Nitin Trivedi, chairman of the Corporation.

    The books contain basic and essential information on the Constitution described in a clear and lucid way so that even parents can find it worth reading, said Trivedi, who is also the Congress media chief.The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has drafted both books. These books are being distributed in all 48,326 government schools having around 40 lakh students.

    “The books cover the basic principles of the Constitution, besides the ideals behind the Preamble that forms the core. The languages, themes and pictorial means can enable the students to easily grasp the spirit of our Constitution,” said Alok Shukla, principal secretary (school education).

  • Chhattisgarh: Maoists abduct seven youths for allegedly appearing in police recruitment drive

    By Express News Service
    RAIPUR: The outlawed CPI (Maoist) has allegedly abducted seven local youths from Kunded at Jagargunda in Sukma district, about 500 km south of Raipur.

    According to the reports, the rebels, suspecting that the youths had appeared for the police recruitment test, took them away at some unknown location.

    Four elderly residents who had gone from Jagargunda to negotiate with the Maoists are yet to return.

    “Few villagers from Kunded village had gone to attend some social gathering (perhaps marriage ceremony) couple of days ago. They are yet to return to their homes. We are trying to ascertain the veracity of the information about them being taken captive by the Maoists,” Sunderraj P, Bastar zone inspector general of police told The New Indian Express.

    The Bastar police are gathering details about the whereabouts of the missing youths.

    Sukma is among the seven Maoist affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar.

  • Chhattisgarh: Maoists ‘abduct’ 7 youths for ‘appearing in police recruitment drive’

    By Express News Service
    RAIPUR: The outlawed CPI (Maoist) has allegedly abducted seven local youths from Kunded at Jagargunda in Sukma district, about 500 km south of Raipur.

    According to the reports, the rebels, suspecting that the youths had appeared for the police recruitment test, took them away at some unknown location.

    Four elderly residents who had gone from Jagargunda to negotiate with the Maoists are yet to return.

    “Few villagers from Kunded village had gone to attend some social gathering (perhaps marriage ceremony) couple of days ago. They are yet to return to their homes. We are trying to ascertain the veracity of the information about them being taken captive by the Maoists,” Sunderraj P, Bastar zone inspector general of police told The New Indian Express.

    The Bastar police are gathering details about the whereabouts of the missing youths.

    Sukma is among the seven Maoist affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar.

  • ‘Keep our interests in mind while making policy’: Migrant workers to Centre, Chhattisgarh govt, industries

    Express News Service
    RAIPUR: Last year’s nationwide lockdown in response to Covid-19 brought much hardship to migrant workers, many of whom struggled without food or pay. 

    To address their issues and to prepare Chhattisgarh to meet similar challenges in the future, a first-of-its-kind initiative was held in Raipur where migrant workers, acting as a jury, recommended measures to the government to improve their lives. It called on the government to consider them in their plan of action.

    Among other recommendations, it requested that everyone get employment from 150 to 200 days under MNREGA so that the need to migrate is reduced. It also suggested that Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for landless migrant laborers be implemented. Other suggestions include life insurance for all migrant workers and a helpline number catering to them. The jury intended to become an empowering tool for the affected segments of the population to influence the policy-making process for their welfare, sources said.

    Seventeen jury members were selected with due diligence and transparent process from around 2.5 lakh migrant workers (gathered from government database) to pronounce the judgment on various issues and concerns faced by migrant labourers.

    Open-ended discussions and group meetings among members of the jury, with the support of ‘Friends of the Jury,’ helped them break down complex issues around their employment conditions, livelihood, portability of schemes, various entitlements and their electoral participation.

    Discussions were held on a range of issues. The jury heard arguments from representatives of the government, society and industries. The organisers highlighted that the elites make policies without proper consultations with the people.