Amit Shah launches Jan Suvidha Kendra in villages recently free of Naxal violence

Subhashis Mittra

A silent revolution is underway in a nondescript village in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, once synonymous with Naxal violence. After witnessing decades of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the remote village is proud to have a much-needed public service centre, thanks to the initiative taken by Union home minister Amit Shah to usher in a new chapter of development in the state, recently declared Naxal violence-free.

Shah inaugurated the first security camp-turned-public service centre at Netanar village—the birthplace of the martyr Veer Gundadhur—with a promise to transform 70 out of the total 196 security forces camps located in the erstwhile LWE-hit areas of the state into ‘Seva camps’ (public service centres) over the next one-and-a-half years.

Under the Bastar 2.O road map, security camps will be ‘repurposed’ for public welfare utility works, being viewed as an essential plan of action of the Centre and state government to ensure Maoism never returns to these areas due to lack of development.