Maoists losing grip on Red bastion
SARJU ( LATEHAR):
Like many others children enrolled at Utkramit Rajkiya Vidyalaya in
Sarju, the fourteen-year-old Mohammad Gulam Roshan has, of late, been
regularly attending school. Since January, the attendance in the school -
which has 426 students on its books - has been over 60%. The numbers
are a marked changed from barely a couple of years ago, when the 30-40
students attended classes at the same school in 2009-10.
Roshan, now in class IX, has been studying in the same school at Sarju since 2005. He vividly remembers the instances when the school was set on fire in 2007 and a landmine was recovered from beneath the veranda. "At times, only a handful of students came to school and we often had to return home because no one turned up," he remembered.
Once considered a 'liberated zone' and the de facto capital of Maoist territory, Sarju is slowly but steadily slipping out of the control of rebels and normalcy is returning to the hill region. Ever since Jharkhand came into being in 2000, Sarju village, a hilly and forested area, was overtaken by rebels. Maoist attacks were almost the order and villagers were barred from visiting any government facility. On some occasions, the rebels even laid landmines to stop the locals from attending welfare programmes. In 2003, the police lodged an FIR against almost every villager accusing them of being Maoist supporters. Not a single vote was cast in the Sarju polling booth in the 2009 general elections as the Maoist had called for poll boycott.
The face of the village started changing since the government began its area dominance programme by establishing security camps across the region. While deployment of security forces at Koney, Oreya and Sarju, the authorities significantly reduced incidents of violence. Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh's announcing of Integrated Action Plan (IAP) also convinced the villagers not to flee the region.
These days, local women visit primary health centres for treatment and pregnant women give birth in government hospitals. One assistant nurse, who originally hails from Bihar, said she is not scared to live near the PHC any more - she even opens her gates for any patient late at night. Farmers work their fields to save their crops from the drought and they are eagerly awaiting development packages to reach the region.
The villagers, who once were staunch supporters of the Red brigade, have decided to give their luck a chance. "Though we fear that the area will again be taken over by the Maoists as soon as these camps are dismantled, we decided to stay back and see if some livelihood opportunities are made available to the villagers under IAP," said Md Taufid, a septuagenarian.
Some of the villagers, unwilling to be identified, still praised the Maoists and expressed doubts over the intentions of security forces and assurances given by government. "How can we expect any development in this region when the government did nothing for us before the 1990s, when the area hardly had any Maoists," argued an old tribal. He said he wants these camps removed and blames the security forces for the souring relationship between the villagers and the Maoists.
Since January police have arrested over two dozen Maoists - including some top leaders like Pramod Paswan alias Pakur jee. Some Maoist supporters have also been arrested along with a couple of activists of the splinter groups. A large number of Maoist sympathizers have fled their homes and belongings fearing arrest. Villagers claim that they have gone out in search of jobs because of the drought condition.
SDPO Burwadih Mani Lal Mandal admitted that most of the top Reds have fled to the neighbouring Chhattisgarh and some have even entered the Baresarh region. "We have to establish similar security camps in Baresarh region and instill a sense of confidence among the villagers in this part of the district so that the rebels cannot create a new safe haven for themselves," he said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoists-losing-grip-on-Red-bastion/articleshow/16378476.cms
Roshan, now in class IX, has been studying in the same school at Sarju since 2005. He vividly remembers the instances when the school was set on fire in 2007 and a landmine was recovered from beneath the veranda. "At times, only a handful of students came to school and we often had to return home because no one turned up," he remembered.
Once considered a 'liberated zone' and the de facto capital of Maoist territory, Sarju is slowly but steadily slipping out of the control of rebels and normalcy is returning to the hill region. Ever since Jharkhand came into being in 2000, Sarju village, a hilly and forested area, was overtaken by rebels. Maoist attacks were almost the order and villagers were barred from visiting any government facility. On some occasions, the rebels even laid landmines to stop the locals from attending welfare programmes. In 2003, the police lodged an FIR against almost every villager accusing them of being Maoist supporters. Not a single vote was cast in the Sarju polling booth in the 2009 general elections as the Maoist had called for poll boycott.
The face of the village started changing since the government began its area dominance programme by establishing security camps across the region. While deployment of security forces at Koney, Oreya and Sarju, the authorities significantly reduced incidents of violence. Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh's announcing of Integrated Action Plan (IAP) also convinced the villagers not to flee the region.
These days, local women visit primary health centres for treatment and pregnant women give birth in government hospitals. One assistant nurse, who originally hails from Bihar, said she is not scared to live near the PHC any more - she even opens her gates for any patient late at night. Farmers work their fields to save their crops from the drought and they are eagerly awaiting development packages to reach the region.
The villagers, who once were staunch supporters of the Red brigade, have decided to give their luck a chance. "Though we fear that the area will again be taken over by the Maoists as soon as these camps are dismantled, we decided to stay back and see if some livelihood opportunities are made available to the villagers under IAP," said Md Taufid, a septuagenarian.
Some of the villagers, unwilling to be identified, still praised the Maoists and expressed doubts over the intentions of security forces and assurances given by government. "How can we expect any development in this region when the government did nothing for us before the 1990s, when the area hardly had any Maoists," argued an old tribal. He said he wants these camps removed and blames the security forces for the souring relationship between the villagers and the Maoists.
Since January police have arrested over two dozen Maoists - including some top leaders like Pramod Paswan alias Pakur jee. Some Maoist supporters have also been arrested along with a couple of activists of the splinter groups. A large number of Maoist sympathizers have fled their homes and belongings fearing arrest. Villagers claim that they have gone out in search of jobs because of the drought condition.
SDPO Burwadih Mani Lal Mandal admitted that most of the top Reds have fled to the neighbouring Chhattisgarh and some have even entered the Baresarh region. "We have to establish similar security camps in Baresarh region and instill a sense of confidence among the villagers in this part of the district so that the rebels cannot create a new safe haven for themselves," he said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Maoists-losing-grip-on-Red-bastion/articleshow/16378476.cms
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