The Bastar Chamber of Commerce and Industries have announced not to celebrate Holi, the festival of colours, in view of the recent Maoist attack near Tahakvada in the district in which 15 security personnel and a civilian were killed.
The Chamber, however, said it would celebrate the festival in a simple way only to convey a message of love, social harmony, and brotherhood. No colour would be used in the celebration, it said.
The Chamber general secretary Rishi Hemani said all the programmes which were scheduled on Holi have been postponed.
Condemning the regular Maoist violence in the region, Hemani said the rebels should shun violence and join the mainstream to restore peace in Bastar and elsewhere in the country.
The Bastar region witnessed several major Maoists violence especially in the month of March. As a result police forces also don’t celebrate Holi.
About 200 Maoists ambushed a 44-member contingent of the security forces in a forested patch close to Jeeram Ghati in Sukma district massacring 15 policemen, including 11 paramilitary personnel, and a civilian on Tuesday.
Incidentally, the attack had been suspected to be carried out by the trio of Ramanna-Surinder-Deva of Dharbaghati wing of Dhandkaryana Zonal Committee which was responsible for butchering 30 Congress leaders of Chhattisgarh, including then State Congress chief Nandkumar Patel and nine-time party MP and former Union Minister VC Shukla, on May 25 last year.