Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said he is satisfied with the pace of development under leadership of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh in the insurgency-hit areas of the State.
In the coming years, more development will be witnessed in such under developed areas,” he said. The Home Minister was chairing a high-powered meeting here in which Chief Minister Raman Singh, Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand, Director General of Police (DGP) AN Upadhyay and other senior officers were present.
During the meeting he said, “Naxalism is really a big challenge before democracy and we are committed to finding a permanent solution for it.” He also reviewed the anti-Naxal operations going on in insurgency hit areas.
Chief Minister Raman Singh during the meeting informed that for strengthening communication in the interior parts of Bastar, mobile towers are being installed and so far, a total of 73 towers are already functioning. Works to set up new towers are under process.
“For availing banking facilities for villagers living in hinterlands, various new branches are being opened and emphasis is also on expanding power supply network,” he said.
Those villages of red zones where it is not possible to supply power through conventional mode; there, solar power systems are being used, Singh said.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the people involved in Naxal activities to quit the path of violence; ‘or else they will ‘have to’ leave it’, he said.
He was talking to reporters after attending the second convocation ceremony of Kushabhau Thakre University of Journalism and Mass Communication (KTUJM) on Saturday. “If they (Naxals) want to shun the path of violence then we can talk but there is no place for violence in the democracy,” said the Home Minister.