The fresh candidates from Dantewada would be imparted 15-days training from July 16 to 30, 2018 prior to the selection for the Central Reserve Police Force ‘Bastariya Batallion’. The para-military force has constituted local battalion by selecting local youth.
The district administration to ensure maximum participation and selection in the recruitment drive is providing the training. The nodal officers and other assisting them have been deputed for the purpose. They would ensure drinking water, sanitation, power supply, registration, food and boarding to the trainees. The CRPF officers and jawans would impart training in physical and written examination. The boys would stay at Astha Boys hostel Dantewada and Pre-matric boys hostel Dantewada and women would stay at Astha Gurukul Girls Hostel and livelihood College, Dantewada.
In the first batch around 241 were recruited from four highly naxal infested Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma districts of Chhattisgarh. Another remarkable feature of the battalion is its adequate female representation which is in sync with the Government’s policy of 33% reservation for women.
The sanctioned strength of the innovative battalion is 743, yet in the first phase as many as 739 candidate were selected in a special recruitment drive between mid-October 2016 to late January 2017, conducted by the CRPF in the Bastar region. However, finally a total of 534 candidates including 189 female recruits underwent specialized training at ATC Bilaspur and ATC Ambikapur spanning over 44 long weeks. The training included guerilla warfare, camouflage, living off the land and all those tricks of the trade that involve jungle operations. These jawans, after the PoP, will be deployed in the core areas of Chhattisgarh to fight the naxals alongside the normal GD Bns and CoBRABns of CRPF.
The ‘Bastariya Battalion’ that came into existence on1st April 2017, has been created to enhance local representation in CRPF’s combat lay-out in the Bastar area besides providing the ‘Bastriya’ youths a full-proof platform for employment. Accordingly, its recruitment process too carried some unique features. While the physical standards of height and weight were relaxed to give a fair chance to the local aspirants, CRPF also walked yet another extra mile to provide pre-educational and physical training to the local youths through Civic Action Programmes so as to maximize their ability and eligibility for induction into the special formation.