National Flag Unfurled In This Maoist Stronghold For First Time Since 1947

For the first time since Independence, the national flag was unfurled in Puvarti – a village in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma where the Maoists once ran a parallel government. A police camp was also set up by the security forces, which they believe will break the morale of the Maoists.

Puvarti, on the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts, is the native village of Hidma, a self-styled commander of the banned guerrilla group, and his successor Barsa Deva. It is here that the Maoists strategized against the security forces and planned their attacks.

The village, which had a pond and farms, had security arrangements required to confront any security team, found officials from the CRPF and state police during their inspection on Sunday. There were installations from where they could keep an eye on passers-by.

A rest house that once served as a school stood in the middle of the village. The land around it, where the Maoists grew vegetables, has also been taken over.

The vast area spanning kilometres used to be Maoist training camps, where they also held meetings and recruited young villagers living in nearby settlements.

The findings provided an insight into how the banned group functioned and carried out heinous attacks on security personnel.

The opening of a security camp in the village delivers a severe blow to the morale of the Maoists. In an area where the cops once feared to set foot on, seven such camps have opened in the past few months and are going to help their ongoing war against the group.

The significance of this camp is that a security team can be dispatched from here whenever there’s information about Maoist movement, unlike before when it took them hours to arrive.

In the village, the Sukma Superintendent of Police met Hidma’s mother and assured her help in every possible way. Urging the villagers to stay away from Maoist activities, he said the benefits of all government schemes will be extended them. Development of the village is possible only with the cooperation of the villagers, he said.

The latest move comes weeks after three CRPF soldiers were killed during a Maoist attack on the Tekalguda police camp. A large number of soldiers were also injured in the January 30 attack.