With civil contractors reluctant to take up road construction work in Naxal-hit areas, the CRPF has for the first time taken upon itself to build a 7-km stretch in an insurgency-riddled forested pocket of Sukma in Chhattisgarh.
The CRPF, which is guarding a number of road projects in the State, one of which came under attack in Tongapal on March 11 in which 15 security personnel were killed besides a civilian, will soon bid for the tender and related procedures to gain the rights to construct the particular patch which is considered one of the important lifelines of the area where Maoists are running a parallel Government since late 1980s.
The paramilitary CRPF will deploy its civil engineers and supervisors for the project and it will be guarded by an armed squad.“This is a pioneer step we have taken to ensure that road projects in the Naxal areas are taken up and completed. Our engineering wing will supervise this maiden project that is being undertaken by the force,” CRPF chief Dilip Trivedi said.
He was speaking after reviewing the security arrangements in the State in the aftermath of last week’s Naxal attack on security personnel in Bastar area of the State.The CRPF Director-General said it was essential for security forces to ‘dominate’ the roads in these areas as they are harbingers of development in far-off areas and hence an eyesore for the Naxals who do not want progress to usher in, in order to maintain their strongholds.
“We are determined to undertake the road construction. Such attacks (last week in Tongapal) will not deter us,” Trivedi said.The particular project route is being kept under the wraps for security reasons and the stretch is also crucial for the forces as it will enable them to carry men and materials to their posts in remote jungle locations.
The Union Home Ministry had two years ago sanctioned a full-fledged civil engineering wing in the country’s largest paramilitary force, the mainstay of anti-Naxal operations in the country, as it was getting difficult to get roads constructed in Naxal areas with civilian contractors and workers fearing for their lives.
The new unit was mandated not only to recruit engineering manpower from the public domain but also depute some of its existing expertise in these areas for road construction.The unit will function under the command of the Additional DG (Works) of the CRPF and will also have the State police and civil construction officials on its decision-making board.According to sources, some more road projects are under the consideration of the CRPF.