Gadchiroli villages live under shadow of gun

Nagpur: For over three and half decades, the people of 10-15 villages beyond Bhamragarh have been living under constant fear of gun, either of Naxalites or of police and paramilitary forces. For much of the time, these villages are directly or indirectly controlled by the rebels due to complete lack of development, including roads and connectivity.
Recent visit by TOI and interaction with a cross-section of villagers revealed that the government’s writ runs nominally in these areas close to Chhattisgarh border. The government presence is felt only though battalions of SRPF or Cobra. In the absence of education and communication facilities and no avenues of employment, many youths from these villages joined the Naxal ranks.
According to villagers, they are caught between devil and the deep sea, with both red rebels and police harassing them. “The Naxals are a menace as they forcibly take foodgrains from us. We cannot resist fearing for our lives. On the other hand, police want to know whereabouts of outlaws from us ,” a group of villagers said.
For four to five months of monsoon, these villagers remain cut-off from the outside world as big nullahs like Jui are in spate and difficult to cross. During this period, Naxals have a free run here. “A majority of villagers are into the farming as there is no other economic activity. Even schooling is only till fourth standard. In this condition, the youths are attracted towards left wing extremism, as the Naxals show them false dreams,” the village elders added.
They had recently gathered in Nelgunda village for an event organized by Bhumkal Sanghatan. The gathering wouldn’t have been possible without ‘help’ of police force. “We were told by the police to attend the meeting. They also held a meeting prior to this one where they told us that one member from each family must attend it. Therefore, we came here from far off places by tractors,” villagers informed.
It was evident the entire event was organized by the police, who also arranged for stage and loudspeakers. The entire area from Bhamragarh to Nelgunda was sanitized with presence of large number of forces on 18 kms stretch. The cops also hosted a lunch for the villagers and distributed clothes and other material to them after the event.
“Once the forces leave the area, the Naxal will come and may target us. A few days back, they killed a couple of persons they believed to be police informers. If the police provided lunch, they will provide dinner to display their supremacy,” the villagers said.
The police commandos said it was extremely difficult to neutralize the Maoists as latter were well-trained in guerrilla warfare. They had an added advantage of crossing over into Chhattisgarh if police get too near. “Unless proper roads are laid, we can’t freely enter these villages,” they said.
Gadchiroli additional collector Mahesh Awhad told TOI the government was making all efforts to improve the situation, which was not as bad as projected. He added Naxalites were thwarting development as it would end their dominance of the area. “They threaten contractors and also burnt down trucks and dumpers to be used for building roads and bridges. They did not allowe construction of bridges here. They survive on extortion from tendu and bamboo contractors,” he said adding that development would take some time to reach these villages.