Raipur: The Border Security Force has set up two new posts in the Naxal-affected Kanker district of Chhattisgarh to facilitate road construction projects.
“Both the company operated bases (COB) were set up last week in the highly sensitive region of Kanker bordering with Maharashtra,” Inspector General, Frontier Headquarters of BSF in Bhilai, Mahendra Singh said.
One BSF post has been set up at Kanhargaon village which is on the border of Kanker and Gadchiroli (Maharashtra) to ensure security to the Bande-Irpanaar road (36 km long) and the other at Charre Marre village for the Antagarh-Amabeda road (35 km long), he said.
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The road between Bande and Irpanaar villages goes through dense forests along the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border which is considered a Maoist den.
The route connecting Antagarh tehsil to Amabeda village passes through some hilly forests where also the ultras are quite active.
In view of the attempts made in the past by Naxals to thwart development works in these areas, the paramilitary force has been tasked to ensure safety to the construction work and the people engaged in it, the IG said.
“It is only roads that will help in mobilisation of security forces, economic activity, government schemes, hospitals and ambulances to reach the tribal areas,” he said.
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Singh said these roads are the most important tool in fighting the Left Wing Extremism in the area.
Presently, five different roads are being laid under the security cover of the BSF in Kanker.
Notably, the BSF has eight battalions (nearly 8,000 personnel) in Chhattisgarh, all concentrated in Kanker district, which is around 150 km from state capital Raipur.
The BSF Frontier Headquarters is at Bhilai in Durg district of the state.
The paramilitary force ensured security to the construction of four roads in 2015 and eight in 2016 in Kanker, as per an official release.
The BSP personnel succeeded in instilling a sense of security among the local population and bringing peace and order by carrying out an extensive operation against Maoists in the area, the release said.