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From tracking the question of information teams retired connected patrol with satellite-enabled navigation devices and ensuring connection done outer phones, to opening caller information camps successful the alleged liberated zones successful the Bastar part of Chhattisgarh, the State Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) followed a wide strategy to state the 42,000 sq. km country “Maoist-free” by March 31, a deadline acceptable by Union Home Minister Amit Shah connected August 24, 2024.
The fig of districts affected by left-wing extremism, often referred to arsenic the reddish corridor, has shrunk from 126 districts crossed Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh successful 2014 to conscionable 2 districts — Bijapur and Sukma (in Chhattisgarh) — successful 2026. In 2005 the fig of affected districts stood astatine astir 230. Many districts were reorganised successful the pursuing years.
Bihar, Maharashtra (barring 1 district), Jharkhand, and Odisha had already been declared escaped of Maoist activities earlier 2024, Home Minister Amit Shah informed the Lok Sabha connected March 30. Bastar was 1 of the regions worst affected by left-wing extremism.
The Minister said that the fig of constabulary stations successful the state which recorded Maoist incidents came down to 60 successful 2026 from 350 successful 2014. According to the yearly study of the Home Ministry for 2005-06, the fig of specified constabulary stations stood astatine 460 successful 2005.
Sundarraj P., Inspector-General of Police, Bastar Range, told The Hindu that arsenic caller information camps were opened successful Bastar, the power of the Maoists dwindled. “The question of each patrol squad was tracked done GPS devices. To tide implicit connectivity issues successful the interior, outer phones were used. If a squad came nether fire, the reinforcements were sent from the nearest camp. The alteration successful strategy helped successful bringing down the fig of casualties, dissimilar earlier erstwhile teams were retired patrolling for 2 oregon 3 days; it was similar shooting successful the dark,” the serviceman said.
The Home Minister said that successful the past six years, 406 caller Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) camps and 68 nighttime landing helipads were built successful areas affected by left-wing extremism. As galore arsenic 400 bullet-proof and blast-proof vehicles were besides provided to jawans.
Data amusement that successful Bastar alone, retired of the 432 information camps acceptable up since 2001, 168 were established betwixt 2001 and 2014, portion 264 camps were established betwixt 2015 and 2026. Bijapur and Sukma, the lone 2 districts that person immoderate beingness of Maoist activity, relationship for 50% of the full specified camps.
According to the Bastar Police Action and Outcome Report, information camps are nary longer constricted to unit deployment but run arsenic Integrated Development Centres, helping widen governance, payment schemes, and indispensable services to antecedently inaccessible villages. The enlargement of these camps is described arsenic cardinal to restoring territorial power and nationalist trust.
Mr. Sundarraj said that though the country had been astir cleared of the beingness of Maoists, with the objection of 7 oregon 8 cadres, the situation posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) remained. “We volition instrumentality immoderate clip to de-mine the areas and state them escaped of IEDs that whitethorn person been planted by the Maoists earlier they deserted their camps oregon surrendered,” Mr. Sundarraj said.
According to the Home Ministry, since 2010, determination person been 1,754 attacks connected “economic infrastructure” specified arsenic roads, telecom networks, schools and different infrastructure to support populations isolated from the mainstream and forestall governance outreach.
While 1,141 attacks connected economical infrastructure were reported betwixt 2010 to 2014, arsenic galore arsenic 613 specified attacks were reported from 2015 to 2025.
Mr. Sundarraj said that the incidents of Maoists damaging infrastructure had decreased significantly, with lone 2 incidents of harm to mobile telephone towers reported successful 2025.
