71st Independence Day: Battle against Naxals yielding comprehensive results, says Raman Singh

RAIPUR (INDIA): Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh on Tuesday said the battle against Naxals in the state has been yielding “comprehensive” results with the guidance and cooperation from the government of India (Centre).nn”The anti-national and anti-development activities carried out by the Naxals to harm internal security and democracy in India is being fought by security forces and local people with determination,” Singh said while addressing the IndependenceDay function at the police parade ground.nn”I once again extend my gratitude to the Centre for their guidance and cooperation in the anti-Maoist operation which is yielding comprehensive results,” he said.nn”In 2017, so far, 599 Maoists have been arrested and 299 surrendered. Today, I especially bow my head before security forces who sacrificed their lives fighting the Maoist menace. The state and the country will always remain indebted to these martyrs,” he said.nnDescribing the security of people as the topmost priority, the chief minister said the state government has approved 1,175 new posts in police force after which the total sanctioned strength of the state forces has reached to 75,000. He further listed out achievements under various schemes of his government citing its benefits.nnAs many as 81 new branches or ATMs of the banks have been opened in the Naxal-affected areas, which will help in triggering development activities of those regions, he said.nnChhattisgarh is the first state to provide free medical treatment facility to each family of the state through ‘smart cards’, he added.nnIn the memory of freedom fighters and pride of tribal community Amar Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh and Veer Gundadhur, a grand memorial and museum will be constructed in Raipur and Jagdalpur respectively, so that the coming generations may take inspiration from their stories and sacrifices, he said.nn”For the first time in the country, a time-bound roadmap has been created for doubling the income of farmers by the year 2022, under which more than 43 lakh farmers have been provided ‘soil health card’ for testing of the soil samples,”nn”Five districts and one development block in each 22 districts have been selected for organic farming,” he said. The state government has decided to merge District Cooperative banks with Chhattisgarh State Cooperative Bank to provide benefits of modern banking services to the farmers, he added.nnAs many as 14,805 villages, 8,454 panchayats, 100 janpad panchayats, 78 urban bodies have been declared ‘open-defecation free’ in the state. Ambikapur’s Public Participation Model for Cleanliness has won a national award, he said.nn”We will achieve the goal of complete cleanliness by October 2, 2018, one year earlier than other states,” he asserted.nnFor quality testing of materials and equipment used in power sector, a Central Power Research Institute will be set at Naya Raipur, he said.nnTo promote green energy, at least 1,827 villages were electrified through solar energy. Solar drinking pumps have been installed in more than 4000 hamlets, said Singh.nnA new solar power policy has been enacted under which promotion of roof-top solar power plant is being done, the CM said.nnUnder the ‘Bastar Net’ scheme, optical fibre network is being laid in the tribal dominated region and so far 125 kilometres have been covered which will connect this region to the entire state, country and world, he added.nnSimilarly, under the ‘Suchna Kranti Yojna’ (SKY), 45 lakh smartphones will be provided to families living below poverty line (BPL) and college students, he added.nnEarlier, the CM unfurled the tricolour and received a guard of honour from the joint parade of the state police, Special Task Force, women squad of state police, National Cadet Corps, National Service Scheme, Scout and Guide students.nnSource: Press Trust of India