NINE remote villages located in theNaxalite-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh will be witnessing a historicmoment onRepublicDay on Friday when the tricolour will be unfurled there for the first time in 76 years, indicat- ing the waning influence of rebels and improvement in security scenario. According to the police, thesevillages have never seen unfurling or hoisting of the national flag since 1947,butthatwil change when its residents will join the rest of the coun- try in celebrating Republic Day, which commemorates the day when the Constitution came into effect in 1950. Setting up ofnewcamps of security forces near these villages has paved the way for their development and linked them to the rest of the state, they said. The Bastarregion,comprising seven districts,has been the epicentre of the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the State and has seen someofthedeadliest attacks by Naxalites in the country.

 

“The tricolour will be unfurled in Palnar, Dumripalnar, Chintavagu and Kavadgaon villagesin Bijapur district andMuler, Paria, Saltong, Mukrajkonda and Duled village in Sukma district on Friday. Such an event had not been witnessed inthesevil agessinceindependence, ” Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P told PTI. The establishment of new camps in these vil- lages in the last two months has pushed Naxalites on the backfoot. Now these villages will reverberate with patriot- iczeal when flag hoisting takes place, he said. Ofthese nine locations, Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF)camps have been set up in Muler and Paria, while Central Reserve