�Mumbai:�Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday expressed confidence that the state will be Naxal-free soon. He was on a tour to Naxal-affected Gadchiroli, where 11 Maoists surrendered in his presence. Mr. Fadnavis also felicitated C-60 commandos and officers for bravery in anti-Naxal operations, while Rs 86 lakh was provided to the surrendered Naxalites.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Fadnavis launched the first bus service from Aheri to Gardewada in Naxal affected Gadchiroli district after 77 years of Independence of the country. He also travelled in the state transport bus. He asserted that his government would make Gadchiroli number one district in the state.
The CM also launched various projects of Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited worth Rs 6200 crore. The project is expected to generate more than four thousand jobs in Gadchiroli district.
Mr. Fadnavis on Wednesday went to Gadchiroli district, where he inaugurated a road which connects Maharashtra with Chhattisgarh. He said that this part, which was dominated by naxalites, is being liberated with people getting state transport bus services for the first time after the independence. He also conducted an aerial review of the Gatta-Gardewada-Todgatta-Wangeturi road and the Tadguda bridge.
After the inauguration of the bus services and road, Mr. Fadnavis said that the state is moving towards the ending of the menace of Naxalism as there is no new recruitment in moist teams. “We have already stated that Gadchiroli will not be the last district of Maharashtra but the first district. We have started doing the same…. All big cadres are surrendering and it (naxalism) is moving towards its end,” he said.
Later in the day, 11 Naxalites, including eight women surrendered to the police in the presence of Mr. Fadnavis in Gadchiroli. These Naxalites were carrying a collective bounty of more than Rs one crore. They were involved in launching attacks on enforcement agencies and security personnel. The Chhattisgarh government had also kept a bounty on them.
Most prominent among the surrendered Naxal was Dandkaranya zonal committee member Vimla Chandra Sidam alias Tarakka, who had been involved in the Naxalism movement for the last 34 years. Apart from her, three division committee members, one deputy commander, two area committee members among those who have surrendered. The government gave them financial assistance of Rs 84 lakh for their livelihood.
Mr. Fadnavis assured that the surrendered Naxalites would be rehabilitated properly. Hailing the security personnel, Mr. Fadnavis said that many dreaded Naxals were either neutralised or arrested in the past years.
The CM further said that Maoist cadres have disassociated themselves from the naxal movement as they have realised its hollow ideology. “No man or woman has joined Maoism in the last four years. This is a big achievement,” he said.
Praising C-60 Jawans, who won the trust of the people because of which 11 villages have banned Naxalites, the CM said, “Now no one is ready to join the anti-constitutional movement, this is a matter of joy. The people have now understood that if justice is to be achieved, it can be achieved only through the Indian Constitution, it cannot be achieved through Maoist ideology.”