AOPs in Naxal-hit districts helping school dropouts
| Date :03-Jun-2019 |
The students appearing for preparatory examination for admission to YCMOU courses at a centre in Bharnoli in Gondia district.
By Kartik Lokhande:
Well begun is half done. Following this dictum, the armed out posts (AOPs) of Police Department in Naxal-affected districts of Gadchiroli and Gondia districts in Vidarbha region, are now becoming centres of academic revolution. In Gadchiroli and Gondia districts, police force is engaged in countering the Naxalite/Maoist terrorists, and also ensuring public safety and preparing the ground for development of the backward areas. Over the years, the police force saw thick and thin of times in this battle. The cops also realised the need to make the local population aware of the world outside the conflict zone. For, it is the local population that forms the support base of Maoists.
The students appearing for preparatory examination for admission to YCMOU courses, at a centre in Gadchiroli district.
Hence, Police Department started seveal initiatives including ‘Maharashtra Darshan’ tour for youngsters, sports activities, recruitment opportunities etc. So far, the AOPs were engaged only in conducting anti-Naxalite operations. Now, the AOPs are becoming centres of grooming for the school dropouts. Ankush Shinde, who was Deputy Inspector General of Police, Gadchiroli-Gondia Range till last week (now transferred to Solapur as Commissioner of Police), came up with this idea. “Police Department, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, and Additional Tribal Commissioner’s office co-ordinated in this regard and the result is for all to see,” he told ‘The Hitavada’.
Gadchiroli district has 58 AOPs and Gondia has nine. In Gadchiroli, the initiative to enrol the school dropouts for Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) has been launched at five AOPs. These AOPs include Gyarapatti, Pendhari, Hedri, Tadgaon, and Damrancha. The total enrolment at these five AOPs is 623, and the enrolment at two AOPs in Gondia district namely Pipariya and Bharnoli is 652, said Shinde. “This is for the academic session 2018-19. The students who have enrolled have passed proficiency test,” he added. To ensure that their performance is good, YCMOU has approved Police Sub-Inspectors at respective AOPs to work as teachers.
The enrolled students go to the AOPs every Sunday and study. Books have been made available to them for free. So good is the response to the idea, said Shinde, that preparatory offline examination was conducted at Gyarapatti, Hedri, Pipariya, and Bharnoli AOPs.
“This initiative is bound to yield positive results as far as making people aware of the benefits of education, and staying away from violent ideology of Maoists,” he added. Of course, Shinde’s idea of transforming AOPs into centres of strengthening the connect between the police and the people did not stop at YCMOU centres. Before relinquishing charge of the office as Deputy Inspector General of Police, Gadchiroli-Gondia Range, and heading to Solapur, he suggested the Superintendents of Police in both the districts to move proposals to start ration shops and telemedicine centres at all AOPs. According to him, starting ration shops at AOPs will stop siphoning of the foodgrains stock, and telemedicine centres will ensure that tribals in remote parts of these districts get proper healthcare facilities. “In the long run, these initiatives will wean away the support of Maoists. I am happy that I could initiate these things during my tenure,” he said.