On the Establishment Day of Jharkhand, top officials exhorted the youth who had gone astray due to Naxalism to come back to the mainstream. This is sort of paradigm shift as till few years back mention of extremism in public was a taboo with senior officials.
The first to touch this raw chord was DC Palamu K Srinivasan who asked the youth to return to the mainstream. The DC Palamu reminded a very modest gathering in Shivajee Maidan that violence be shunned for development.
Srinivasan said, “Very recently I, along with the SP Palamu, visited a Naxal-hit panchayat Kekargarh in Palamu’s Panki where despite some deficiencies Government schemes have reached and people there are utilizing it.” Srinivasan said at Kekargarh there is a Government school and it is just possible this school may be lacking some facilities. He added there is Anganbadi Kendra here where too there may be deficiencies. Public distribution shop is at Kekargarh.
He said it shows Jharkhand has made a long stride after its creation. But he admitted very frankly the problem of connectivity is too enormous here. The two flanks of the river Amanat have rendered the hamlet of people here inaccessible. Connectivity problem is there and it is to be redressed asserted Srinivasan. Next on the mike was DIG police Palamu Saket Kumar Singh who in his speech went two steps farther saying extremism is already vanished in Garhwa while extremism is confined to South of latehar while in Palamu it is Panki and Naudeeha where there are vestiges of extremism and media people while reporting on/about extremism must give the real ground picture as Palamu is still seen and talked about as Naxalite district.
Saket went on to say further ‘ I also joined the chorus of exhortations to naxals to fight panchayat election with all sincerity and seriousness if the naxals have their own model of development’. The E Day drew luke warm response from public on account of Chhath festival and ongoing panchayat election.