The Chhattisgarh police would soon be trained in guerrilla warfare by the Army to counter the Maoists. A proposal to this effect has been cleared by the state government recently, official sources said here on Sunday.
“A vast forested area in Abijhmad in Bastar division has been earmarked for the purpose. There is, however, no proposal to construct buildings or allot lands for setting up the institute at present, as it requires forest clearance. This will purely be an open-air training institute,” a spokesman of the state home department told this newspaper here. “The urgency to impart guerrilla warfare training to police has been felt in the wake of growing Maoist violence in the state and recent reversals suffered by the security forces at the hands of the rebels,” he added.
The state government has also agreed “in principle” to clear the proposal for setting up an Army sub-station at Chaktrabhat in Bilashpur district. The Army’s proposal in this regard had been pending with the state government for the last four years. The go ahead signal was given a couple of days ago following initiation of governor Sekhar Dutt, official sources disclosed.
A proposal has also been pending with the state government for sometime to clear a base for Indian Air Force at Nandini in Bhillai, nearly 35 km from Raipur.