Raman Singh promises to remove regional disparities in Chhattisgarh
Raipur:MMNN:17 Aug. 2015
Reiterating his government's commitment to remove regional disparities and upgrading the living standards of people, Chhattisgarh chief minister, Dr Raman Singh, on Saturday said the state had achieved significant success in it's Maoist eradication campaign.
In his address at a public gathering to mark the Independence Day celebration, the chief minister said his government had resolved to ensure 'Sabke Sath- Sabka Vikas' (Together with all; development for all), a slogan coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said his government would continue to make policies and provide facilities for betterment of farmers.
He said 99.4 per cent of the families in Chhattisgarh had been connected with banking facility under 'Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana'. He said under 'Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Beema Yojana', more than 42 lakh families have been provided accident insurance cover at Re 1 only. Nearly 20 lakh farmers have been issued credit cards.
On the occasion, Dr Singh unfurled the national flag and took salute from the joint parade of Chhattisgarh police, home guard, Chhattisgarh armed forces, Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel, National Cadet Core (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS) and students of Scout-Guide of India. Nearly 650 school students from Bastar Division, Sarguja Division and Raipur Division of state also presented patriotic cultural programmes on the occasion.
Extending his I-day greetings to the people, the chief minister said Chhattisgarh is marked as the ideal state under 'Kushal Bharat Abhiyan', and has been entrusted with the responsibility of achieving14 per cent of the national target under this scheme.
To realize the vision of 'Make in India', Chhattisgarh government has implemented new industrial policy, information technology and electronics policy and 'right of way' policy in state, he said adding that these policies had earned the state a huge investment of Rs one lakh 60 thousand crores.
Lauding the role of farmers in the state's economy, Dr Singh said his government is committed to implementing pro-agrarian policies and provide new facilities for betterment of farmers. He said after achieving success in cultivation of fruits, spices, flowers, medicinal plants etc, the state is now heading in the direction of organic farming.
He said the government had made new arrangements for providing financial aid to farmers in case of natural calamities by giving compensation to all farmers who suffer crop damage of 33 per cent or more. Such compensation was earlier being paid to only farmers who suffered crop damage to the tune of 50 per cent of more.
Stating that information technology would be the new highway of development in the state, the chief minister said under 'e-panchayat', 700 gram panchayats would be connected with internet and 'optical fibre network' at 20mbps connectivity.
He said it's a matter of pride that Chhattisgarh ranks first in the nation-wide launch of 'Digital India'. He said the Livelihood Colleges started in all districts of Chhattisgarh have now become a role model for the nation.
Lauding the role of security forces in combating Naxalism, the chief minister said police force in state has been doubled to ensure the security of the people.
He said to boost the morale of security forces in naxal-affected regions, state government has provided promotions, housing and insurance facility, jobs to dependents of martyrs, special allowance, food allowance, training and other such benefits.
He said owing to the better strategy and rehabilitation policy, state has attained great success in Maoist eradication campaign. He said the sacrifices of the martyrs will not go wasted and the state is committed to end Naxal violence.

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Odisha says no to Chhattisgarh’s canal link proposal
MMNN:17 Aug. 2015
Odisha has declined permission to the proposal of a 54-km link canal for diversion of 85 million cubic metre water from Mahanadi to Tandula dam in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
The State government, in a letter to Central Water Commission, has objected to construction of a series of water reservoirs by Chhattisgarh stating that it would reduce water availability in its irrigation projects including Hirakud reservoir which depends on Mahanandi.
In the latest case, Chhattisgarh had sought Odisha’s consent for constructing the link canal in Mahanadi basin to divert water to Tandula dam which has water deficiency. The project, as claimed by Chhattisgarh government, would have increased command area of Tandula dam from 85,400 hectare to 1,03,000 hectare.
In the upper part of Mahanadi basin, Chhattisgarh has built multipurpose reservoirs – Ravishankar Sagar, Dudhwa and Murrumusil. The last two supplement Ravishankar Sagar.
According Odisha’s Water Resource Department, the proposal is based on the presumption that Ravishankar Sagar project is a surplus reservoir.
“In order to justify this, a surplus water analysis table has been furnished by Chhattisgarh to establish that Ravishankar reservoir is surplus reservoir varying from 53.65 Mcum to 610.14 Mcum …. from 1981-82 to 2007-08. But below Ravishankar Sagar, there is a Rudri Barrage and the river crosses Chhattisgarh-Odisha boundary and enters Odisha to enrich the Hirakud reservoir,” said the department.
The Water Resource Department warned that “if the water diversion to the tune of 85 Mcum is being done unconditionally as per Tandula Reservoir requirement, Hirakud reservoir in Odisha is going to be severely affected during non-monsoon season.”
It needs to be mentioned that Chhattisgarh has not entered into any inter-State agreement with Odisha regarding Mahanadi basin water allocation. Experts have predicted that the two States would witness many bitter face-offs over Mahanadi water sharing in future. Mahanadi, sixth largest river in India, originates in Chhattisgarh and falls into the Bay of Bengal travelling 851 km of which 357 km lie in Chhattisgarh and 494 km in Odisha.
Odisha’s contention is that as Hirakud, built in 1950s, is a much older structure with multiple commitments with increasing demand structure and diversion at the cost of dilution of fulfilment of Hirakud commitment needs to be resisted on rational ground.
Odisha’s Water Resource department also charged that unilateral decision of Chhattisgarh government to construct a series of barrage just on the upstream of Hirakud reservoir without taking Odisha into confidence has resulted in threat to non-monsoon water availability at Hirakud.
“In order to create greater forum for covering all the basin-related water issues in future, an initiative towards an inter-State agreement on Mahanadi water sharing is highly solicited,” said J. B. Mohapatra, Odisha’s engineer-in-chief, Water Resource department.

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Impersonation row: Chhattisgarh govt suspends superintendent, invigilator
Raipur:MMNN:14 Aug. 2015
Acting on the university’s recommendation, the government Thursday suspended the superintendent of the examination centre and an invigilator for their alleged negligence in allowing an impersonator to write as many as four papers on behalf of Education Minister Kedar Kashyap’s wife Shanti.
Sundar Lal Sharma Open University has also recommended an FIR against the culprits and asked the police to identify the impersonator, alleged to be Shanti’s sister Kiran Mourya.
However, the government has so far been silent on the alleged involvement of the minister and his wife in the row.
The issue had created a controversy earlier this month after it surfaced that a woman wrote an MA final exam on behalf of Shanti at Lohandigua in Bastar district. As photographs of the woman writing the exam emerged, some claimed that she was Shanti’s sister Kiran.
With Congress demanding the minister’s resignation, Kashyap claimed that his wife had not even filled the examination form this year. “I do not know how the admit card was issued in her name,” he had said.
The university has handed over its findings to the police.

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Minor girl molested by school peon
Korba:MMNN:14 Aug. 2015
A class VI student was allegedly molested by a peon at a government school in Chhattisgarh's Korba district, police said on Friday.
The accused, identified as Umangram (58),
molested the 11-year-old girl in the school premises at Urga in the district on August 12 following which the victim informed her parents about it,
Urga police station SHO Gopal Vyas said.
Based on a complaint lodged in this regard on Thursday by the girl's parents, the peon was arrested, he said.
The accused was booked under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC and section 8 of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offence) Act, the SHO said, adding that further probe was on.
Block Education Officer Sandeep Pandey suspended the peon with immediate effect after the case was lodged against him.

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US state dept report: Children forced to join Maoist ranks in Chhattisgarh to act as couriers
Raipur:MMNN:12 Aug. 2015
Stories on children swelling Maoist ranks in Bastar was endorsed by a recent US state department report — Trafficking in Persons report, 2015. The report states children as young as six are forcibly ejected from their families and launched by terrorist groups like Maoists to act as spies and couriers, plant improvised explosive devices and fight against government. This is prevalent in states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Odisha.
While India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking, 90% of India's trafficking problem covers Dalits and tribals from excluded groups, the US State department report says.
The reports highlighted how Bastar is serving as a major child trafficking hub and immediately after children get into teens, Maoists take them away to camps.
NGOs in Bastar told TOI the situation worsened over the years and kids are being pampered by parents in fear they would join Maoist ranks. Teenagers are quitting studies and demanding gadgets, motorbikes, mobile phones from parents, threatening parents with becoming Maoists if their demands aren't fulfilled.
"Children drop out in Class 7 and 8 and are not seen after that. These children are found missing when we go for a survey in villages. Either they are whisked away to jungles or trafficked by relatives to neighbouring states," a representative of a national NGO told TOI.
Sukhram Kawde, a surrendered Maoist who was Jan militia commander in north Bastar division had told police children residing in government residential schools in Narayanpur were highly vulnerable as cadres force children to join them.
Sukhram, who was recruited as a child said, "Kids are used to install iron rods under the ground to attack security forces, guard camps and promote Maoism among people."
Sources in home ministry reported that nearly 4000 children, including girls were recruited by Maoists in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand between 2010 and 2012, all in the age-group of 10-15.
A report submitted to UN Security Council in 2010 with National Commission for Protection of Child Rights indicated that children were being recruited by Maoists through 'intimidation and abduction'. "Children being used in bal sangham or bal manch," the report said.

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Scanty rainfall in Chhattisgarh's 5 districts propels authorities into action
MMNN:12 Aug. 2015
Scanty rainfall in five districts of Chhattisgarh had forced the state administration to come into action and work out the contingency plan to compensate the possible loss.
Of the 27 districts, short rainfall had been recorded in five districts of the state.
From June 1 to August 10, the state had received about 600 millimetres of rainfall that was half the rainfall that Chhattisgarh had been receiving on average annually.
The state officials said the rainfall received was about 87 per cent of the average rainfall.
Though the situation had not assumed alarming proportion, the state government had swung into action.
Chief Minister Raman Singh talked to the divisional commissioners and district collectors through video-conferencing to take stock of the situation.
The state government had set a target to produce 8.63 million tonnes of foodgrain in the kharif marketing season 2015.

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Wife’s admit card exposes Chhattisgarh education minister
Raipur:MMNN:10 Aug.h 2015
Even before the new three-member committee formed by Pt Sundarlal Sharma (Open) University commences a fresh probe into allegations of an impersonation attempt by Chhattisgarh education minister Kedar Kashyap's wife,
Congress has expressed doubts over its impartiality and demanded a registration of an FIR against the accused.
An access to the admit card of the education minister's wife, Shanti Kashyap, which nails the lie of the minister, who claimed that his wife did not fill the admission form. The admit card with Shanti's photograph and the answer-sheet copy with signatures of Kiran Maurya, Shanti's proxy, has blown the lid off the minister's claims.
"How can we trust the impartiality of this probe committee when the earlier one, which too comprised officials from the university, blatantly exhibited their bias towards Shanti Kashyap by calling her their 'beti' (daughter)," said state Congress member Shailesh Nitin Trivedi.
He said though the vice-chancellor of the university had shown alacrity in disbanding the earlier committee, there is no guarantee that this new committee would act any differently,.
He said after the surfacing of the case, the only logical and legal step was a registration of an FIR against the accused. Trivedi said Raman Singh's statement ruling out Kashyap's resignation on the plea that he was not the one giving the exam clearly showed the devious attempts of a cover-up.
He said the minister's claims that his wife never filled the examination form also indicated that attempts were being made to destroy evidence.
"Their guilt is clear. The woman, Kiran Mourya, who appeared on behalf of Shanti Kashyap, is related to the family and she had signed the answer sheet as Shanti," he said.

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National Insurance cover for seven crops
Raipur:MMNN:10 Aug. 2015
Chhattisgarh government had decided to implement the national agriculture insurance policy and cover seven crops for the current Kharif season.
According to state government spokesperson, the crops to be covered under the national agriculture insurance scheme include paddy, Makka, Soyabean, Groundnut, Arhar pulses, Udad and Moong. The state cabinet had approved the draft of the National Agriculture Insurance Policy in May this year. The spokesperson said the agriculture department after consultations with the union agriculture ministry had given final shape for the implementation of the insurance policy.
The agriculture department officials said that the policy would cover all the farmers no matter they had taken loans or not. The share-croppers would also be entitled for the crop insurance.
The state government had decided to take kharif crops in 4.82 million hectares of area to produce 8.63 million tonnes of foodgrain in the kharif marketing season 2015.
The state that had been recording over 1300 millimeters of annual average rainfall had not received good rains in the current season. The officials said there was no immediate threat to the crops following short rainfall.
Moreover, Chhattisgarh had been a paddy growing state and delay in rainfall would not have much impact, they added.
The state government had planned to take paddy crop in 3.64 million hectares area this year as compared to last year's 3.73 million hectares---a variation of about two per cent. As against 7.64 MT paddy produced during the kharif 2014, the department had set a target of producing 7.65 MT paddy this year.

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A village comes back to life in Chhattisgarh
Raipur:MMNN:7 Aug.h 2015
The decade-long desertion of Bhejji has now come to an end as its natives, who fled the village in the aftermath of Salwa Judum militia clash, have started returning and resettling in one of the worst Naxal-hit places in Chhattisgarh.
Nearly 1,500 villagers had left their homes in Bhejji village of Sukma district in a state of shock and fear when the erstwhile anti-Naxal movement Salwa Judum was kicked off in 2005.
The villagers were settled at the government-aided 'relief camps' at Dornapal and Konta.
"We always wanted to come back to our very own land. It's like our dream come true," Bhejji village sarpanch Guddu told.
Guddu is among the 150 people - around 64 families - who have resettled in Bhejji in the last one month by erecting kuchcha houses (made of natural material like mud, grass, bamboo, thatch or sticks).
Deriving its name from Goddess Bhejji Dai (mother) temple located in the village itself, Bhejji lies around 60 kms away from the district headquarters.
When Salwa Judum movement was launched in 2005, it was believed to be a ground-breaking solution to the intractable Maoist problem in the state, but contrary to the expectation it triggered an unending violence, Guddu said.
"Leaving the ancestral land was never an easy task for us, but we had no option to go for the sake of our lives and see our children alive," he said.
"During ten years of exile, we suffered a lot. But, now gradually things are transforming. The climate of fear and violence is changing, thanks to security forces as well as administration," the sarpanch said.
So far we have succeeded in convincing nearly 150 people, but gradually all 1500 will be brought back to their native land, he said exuding confidence.

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CBI team raids offices of Vandana Vidhyut industry
Raipur:MMNN:7 Aug. 2015
A 15-member team of Central Bureau of Investigation from Delhi had raided offices and factories of leading industrial group of Chhattisgarh Vandana Vidhyut Limited on Thursday at Raipur, Raigarh, Bilaspur and Korba.
In a major operation, finding faults, irregularities and complaint against a coal block of Vandanaa Group, CBI team raided premises of the Agrawal industrialists.
While it was kept a secret affair and no official in state was tipped off about the investigation, the raids continued till late evening.
Talking to, Kanchan Prasad, CBI, public relation officer in Delhi confirmed, "CBI had conducted searches at three places of M/S Vandana Vidhyut in Raipur and two offices in Korba against promoter and director. While there were no arrests as of now, role of some public servants were also under scanner."
She said that there were allegations against the company being ineligible as it had produced false documents leading to irregularities.
As of now, she added that CBI had seized some incriminating documents from their offices.
Vandana Vidhyut Limited currently operates 8 MW Bio-Mass Power Plant at Bilaspur and has signed an MOU in 2007 with state government and Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) for setting up a coal based Thermal Power Project of 540 MW capacity at Village Salora, in Korba district.
The board of directors in the company includes three Agrawal brothers Vinod Agrawal, Prahlad Agrawal and Vijit Agrawal.

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Fake Candidate Writes Exam for Chhattisgarh Minister's Wife: Sources
JAGDALPUR:MMNN:5 Aug.h 2015
A fake candidate allegedly sat for university exams today as proxy for senior BJP leader and Chhattisgarh education minister Kedar Kashyap's wife Shanti Kashyap, sources told.
Mrs Kashyap is a final year post-graduate student of English at the Sunderlal Sharma Open University in Jagdalpur.
Centre in-charge Hemrao Kharge told that the woman who came to take the exams in her stead was later identified as Kiran Maurya, the minister's sister-in-law and a resident of Bhanpuri district.
She had appeared at the exam hall at 10 am for the English Language Studies paper, Mr Kharge said. When the students noticed the impersonation and raised a ruckus, the police was called in and she was escorted out of the premises, he said.
Mr Kharge, however, claimed he did not know the candidate.
The opposition Congress was quick to point fingers at the minister. "Mr Kashyap takes outsourcing so seriously that his wife's exam paper was outsourced as well," said Leader of Opposition TS Singhdeo.
The minister was not available for comments.
The incident comes as a controversy rages in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh over the Vyapam scam -- a huge admission and recruitment racket that allegedly involves top bureaucrats and politicians.

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Chhattisgarh drops chicken processing plant project
Raipur:MMNN:5 Aug. 2015
Succumbing to the pressure building on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Chhattisgarh for allowing chicken processing plant in the state,
Chief Minister Raman Singh today vowed that his government would not allow a single slaughter house to come up.
"As long as the BJP government is in power in the state, not a single slaughter house will be allowed in Chhattisgarh," he told reporters.
He said the government led by him would never give permission to open slaughter house.
Interestingly, the state government had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 4 to open a chicken processing plant in Rajnandgaon, which also happens to be the home constituency of the chief minister.
The plant would have the capacity of processing 90,000 metric tonnes of chicken.
The decision of the state government to drop the project for which it had inked agreement within three months was learned to be taken under pressure.
A message had gone viral quoting the letter addressed to the chief minister by the "residents of Rajnandgaon district" referring to the slaughter house or the chicken processing centre in the district.
The letter said that the residents of Rajnandgaon were stunned with the decision of the state government to allow slaughter house.

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Naxals set drill machine on fire in NMDC's mine area in Chhattisgarh
RAIPUR:MMNN:3 Aug. 2015
Naxals stormed into a mining region of the state-run NMDCBSE 0.25 % in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district and set ablaze a drill machine and a vehicle, police said today.
"A group of Maoists raided the mines deposit no.5 of National Mineral Development Corporation, located on Bailadila hills mining area under Bacheli police station limits late last night and torched the machine and a dumper engaged in mining work,"
Kirandul Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) MZ Baig told.
On sensing the presence of ultras, the Central Industrial Security Force ( CISF) personnel rushed to the spot and opened fire on the rebels,
forcing them to retreat to core forests, the SDOP said.
He said a combing operation has been launched in the region by police, located around 450 kms away from the state capital.

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Farmer's suicide: Senior forest officer suspended, two shunted
Raipur:MMNN:3 Aug. 2015
A forest range officer was suspended and two other officials were transferred after a 35-year-old farmer committed suicide allegedly due to delay in getting compensation for his crop which was destroyed by elephants last year in Chhattisgarh's Korba district.
The farmer, identified as Jageshwar Singh Kunwar, had killed himself at Bundeli village on Thursday night reportedly over the delay in getting compensation of Rs 3500.
"Taking strict cognisance of the matter chief minister Raman Singh has directed Forest Department to suspend Korba Forest Range Officer CR Netam with immediate affect," an official statement said here today.
The directive has also been issued to attach the services of Divisional Forest Officer JR Nayak and Sub-Divisional Officer (Forests-North) RK Dubey to the office of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Raipur, it said.
The orders in this regard were issued late last evening. During preliminary investigation by Korba Collector, Netam was found responsible for the inordinate delay in resolving compensation cases.
According to Kunwar's kin, his crop on nine acres of land at Bundeli village was destroyed by wild elephants in November last year and since then he was awaiting the aid. Kunwar was under pressure as he had borrowed loan from bank for farming and running his family, his kin said.
As per a forest official, an amount of Rs 3500 was to be paid as compensation to the farmer against his crop loss while compensation of another Rs 3500 was pending in the name of his father.
Presently, there are as many as 63 farmers who are yet to receive compensation against crop damage due to elephant menace in Korba division, the official said. Meanwhile, CM has also directed Bilaspur Division Commissioner Sonmoni Borah to minutely investigate the entire episode, the statement said.
"Negligence on the part of any official in sensitive cases connected to farmers will not be tolerated at any cost. In case any negligence is found on the part of Korba Collector, necessary action will be taken against him," the release quoted CM as saying.
Singh also asked officials to take sensitive, serious and immediate action to dispose of the pending issues of farmers.

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CAG: Chhattisgarh violating jail manual provisions
RAIPUR:MMNN:31 July 2015
The Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) has accused the Chhattisgarh government of violating the provisions of the Jail Manual by not providing basic amenities of sanitation and hygienic conditions to prisoners.
While a lot has been written about the pathetic conditions of the India jails, with courts, including the apex court, often pulling up the government, both state and the centre, for failing to provide basic amenities to prisoners, nothing much is apparently being done to change the things. Though the Chhattisgarh government, in its response to CAG, has listed several steps that it is taking to decongest the jails and to improve sanitation conditions there, these are not futuristic and still not enough to deal with the present situation.
According to the latest CAG report, while all jails in Chhattisgarh suffer from over-crowding, to the tune of 132 to 160 percent, the Kanker District Jail, which has capacity of 65, presently has 415 prisoners, 526 per cent more than the required numbers. The report castigates the sanitation condition and states that against the laid down norms of one toilet seat for 5 prisoners, on an average 12 prisoners were sharing a toilet seat in all the jails in Chhattisgarh. "This is causing health hazards", the report notes.
The report states that as of March 2014, overcrowding to the tune of more than 100 per cent was prevailing in 20 of the 27 jails/sub jails in the state. The least crowded jail in Chhattisgarh is the district jail Baikunthpur, which merely has 7% excess prisoners than its sanctioned strength of 148.
The report states that though the government sanction construction of 179 additional barracks, including 23 for the security personnel, in 2010-14 for enhancing capacity, these were not enough to meet the requirement, as they would result in an additional capacity of only 3120 prisoners whereas there is a need to accommodate over 9000 prisoners. Moreover, the report states that only five barracks had been constructed during the period.
The CAG report also reveals that the newly constructed barracks had no provision for sleeping berths, forcing the prisoners to sleep on the floor in all the seasons, exposing them to various health risks.
In its response, the state government stated that four new sub jails, with a capacity of 260 prisoners, had already been sanctioned and a proposal for one Central jail in Naya Raipur with capacity of 1500 prisoners in under consideration.
Though the government claimed that this would solve the problem of overcrowding, the CAG has refused to accept the response and stated that the government is violating the provisions of the Jail Manual.
During the survey of 14 jails, CAG found that only 863 toilet seats were available for 10,213 prisoners lodged there. This, they said, was far below the prescribed norm of one toilet seat for every 5 prisoners as prescribed in the manual. "Shortage of toilet seats invariably affects the sanitation and hygienic accommodation of the prisoners", the report states.
Though the government has claimed that during 2011-14, 490 toilets were sanctioned and further provision of construction of 800 additional toilets has been made in the state budget 2014-15, CAG has stated that this would not address the issue of shortage. Even after the completion of these 1200 toilets, a shortage of 600 would remain, per the laid down norms. Incidentally, despite monetary sanctions, no work has started on construction of the new toilets, the report states.
Interestingly, during verification of four district jails of Dhamtari, Rajnandgaon, Raigarh and Baikuntpur, and two sub jails of Balod and Dongargarh, CAG found that though seven new barracks had been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.40 crores, they were not being used due to shortage of wardens. The report states 50-60% posts of wardens was lying vacant in Chhattisgarh jails.
Meanwhile, in a statement the government has said that recruitment of 747 jail guards has been completed and the vacant posts would be filled shortly.

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Chhattisgarh seeks Sushma Swaraj help to rescue 22 labourers from Malaysia
Raipur:MMNN:31 July 2015
Chhattisgarh Labour Minister Bhaiya Lal Rajade Wednesday met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi and urged her to take immediate steps to ensure the release of labourers from the state allgedly held captive in Malaysia.
Twenty two labourers, who hail from various districts of Chhattisgarh, are reportedly being held against their will by their employer in Malaysia for the past three months. Seventeen of them are from Janjgir-Champa alone. Other labourers hail from Baloda Bazar and Mahasamund districts of the state.
Rajwade said that the victims were working in Euro Plastic Company, owned by one Sulabh Jalan in Kuala Lampur. Swaraj told Rajwade that the Union government was in touch with the Malaysian authorities and Indian Embassy in Kuala Lampur. She assured that the Centre was taking all possible steps for their safe return.
The matter surfaced after some of these labourers managed to call their relatives in Chhattisgarh a fortnight ago and informed them about the inhuman condition they were being forced to live in. The relatives contacted by the labourers claimed that they were being forced to work 12 hours a day, given little food to eat and were being put up inside a tiny shelter from where they were escorted to work and brought back. All the victims are between 20 to 30 years of age.
These relatives first filed a complaint with the Janjgir-Champa Collector. Later, a police complaint was also registered against local contractor Vijay Varman, who had allegedly “trapped” these labourers, got their passports made and got them visas for Malaysia. Varman has been arrested. District Labour Officer Janjgir-Champa Rajesh Adile said that they often received complaints about labourers from the district being made captive elsewhere.
“The administration has not seriously considered the issue so far. The state and the Central governments need to work together to rehabilitate such labourers,” he said. Chhattisgarh reports largescale migration of labourers to other states, many of them work in captivity and are later released by the efforts of NGOs.
Over 700 labourers from Chhattisgarh were released from captivity in various parts of the country in the last two years. Interestingly, Janjgir-Champa recorded maximum migration of nearly 30000 labourers in the last two years. Besides, the rate of minor girls trafficked from the tribal belt of Surguja and Bastar is also very high.

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Chhattisgarh to include APJ Abdul Kalam’s biography in school curriculum
MMNN:29 July 2015
Condoling the demise of former president APJ Abdul Kalam, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday said the former’s biography will be included in the state’s school curriculum.
“He was fond of Chhattisgarh. We have decided to include his biography in the textbooks so that the coming generations know about such a humble personality,” said Singh.
Dr. Kalam passed away in Shillong last evening.
He collapsed after suffering a massive cardiac arrest while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management in Shillong yesterday.
The government has declared a seven-day national mourning as a mark of respect for Dr. Kalam, who played a stellar role in advancing India’s nuclear programme.
Considered one of the most popular presidents of India, Kalam became the11th head of the state and occupied the post between 2002 and 2007 during the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

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CAG raise concern over disposal of bio-medical waste in Chhattisgarh
Raipur:MMNN:29 July 2015
In absence of valid authorizations for disposal of bio medical wastes, over 50 state run health care establishments (HECs) in Chhattisgarh, including district hospitals and medical colleges, may be causing a serious threat to public health and environment, as this waste was being disposed in general garbage bins by some.
The Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) has made these observations in its latest report and has severely castigated the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CGECB) for its failure in monitoring these establishments and allowing them to operate even after non-compliance of various norms. The CAG report also states that while a private incinerator is in operation in Bhilai, 3 incinerators owned by the state government at Korba, Jagdalpur and Kanker were lying idle.
According to the report, the 51 HECs that do not have valid authorisation for disposal of bio medical waste include 11 district hospitals, two Medical Colleges, 27 Community health centres and 11 district Veterinary hospitals. The report states that per Bio Medical Waste (BMW) rule 8 (1), it is mandatory for every health establishment dealing with 1000 patients per month require to obtain authorisations Sent from my iPhone 6+ waste.
According to the report, district hospitals in Durg, Bilaspur, Kondagaon and Korba and two community health centres at Pali and Katghora had authorisation but the same had not been renewed since 2008-09 and 2010 respectively. Hence all these DHs and CHCs were operating without authorisation (October 2014).
Even, the 380-bed Late Balram Kashyap Memorial Medical College cum Maharani Hospital at Jagdalpur had been running without the authorisation, as is provisional authorisation had not been renewed till Oct 2014. The report states, that CGECB, being the nodal agency, should have ensured strict implementation of the BMW rules but had not done so.
The CAG pulled up CGECB for not issuing notices for violation of BMW rules to 51 HCEs, despite physically verifying the violations in 2010-11. Interestingly, during the said year, the board had issued violation notices to 20 HECs but none of the 51 surveyed by it was on this list.
In its response, the government stated that board had granted authorisation to 631 HCEs. However, CAG did not accept the reply as list of these units was not provided by the CGECB and none of the 51 government units test checked had a valid authorisation.
The report reveals that some HECs were found to be disposing off their bio medical waste in general garbage bins provided by the municipal corporation in the hospitals. This was being done in atleast three community health centres at Katghora, Akaltara, and Pallari. Mixing of BMW with municipal garbage has direct adverse effect on human health as well as on the environment.
The report states that three government owned incinerators at Korba, Jagdalpur and Kanker were lying idle. The report states that this showed CGECB did not initiate adequate measures to utilise the available infrastructure, rendering them useless and forcing the HECs to manage with only one private incinerator at Durg.

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Raman Singh government survives Cong’s no-trust vote
Raipur:MMNN:27 July 2015
Amid demands of a CBI probe into the Chhattisgarh PDS scam and resignation of Chief Minister Raman Singh, the no-confidence motion moved by the Congress against the BJP government was defeated early on Sunday morning.
The discussion on the motion continued for over two days, stretching past Saturday midnight, and the voting took place around 2.15 am on Sunday. The BJP government received 50 votes, while the Congress secured 37 in the 90-seat assembly. Two Congress MLAs and an Independent legislator remained absent.
During the discussion in the House, Congress targeted Singh over the alleged involvement of people close to him in the scam. The CM responded by claiming that the anti-corruption bureau is working with full independence and no one will be spared.
Leading the debate on Saturday night, leader of Opposition TS Sinhadev said that the government has failed on all fronts and has lost the confidence of the people. He pointed out that the government has not fulfilled several promises, including Rs 300 per quintal bonus to paddy farmers.
Citing CAG reports, he alleged that the government bypassed rules to provide mining benefits to certain private companies. Sinhadev claimed that the state government’s policies have left people “impoverished” and said that over 90 per cent of families in rural areas and 70 per cent families in cities earn less than Rs 5,000 per month.
Singh replied that the no-confidence motion is a “bag full of lies” and has no merit. He added that the motion reflected Congress’ frustration at “facing defeats across the country”.
Claiming that Congress has been the mother of all scams in the country, Singh said that to further his policy of “zero tolerance” for corruption, he has taken steps to ensure transparency, restrict officers’ discretionary powers and strengthen the police agency working against corruption.
Pointing out that his government had introduced food security in the state, he claimed that his policies have curbed migration and ended starvation deaths.

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Police bust Maoist urban support network in Chhattisgarh
Raipur:MMNN:27 July 2015
The Chhattisgarh police ON Sunday claimed to have busted an alleged Maoist urban support network, with the arrest of five people including a Raipur-based scrap businessman, from separate places.
Dantewada SP Kamlochan Kashyap SAID that based on intelligence inputs, businessman Arun Agrawal and his accountant Balaram were arrested from Raipur airport last night when they were trying to flee, while three Maoist cadres were apprehended from Bhansi police station limits in the insurgency-hit Dantewada district last evening.
"Agarwal is said to be in close contact with a prominent Maoist of the Western Bastar Division Committee called Commander Sanjay alias Mohan Kadti. He often supplied detonators, explosives, generators, welding machines and other materials to the Maoists," the police officer said.
After receiving information six months ago, the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and Dantewada police kept an eye on Arun, Sanjay and others associated with them, he said.
Three days ago, police learnt that Agrawal planned to supply a lathe machine and a welding machine used in making barrels of muzzle loading guns through a Maoist courier named Tarik Anwar who runs a co-operative society in Gamawada village on the Dantewda-Bacheli road, he said.
On Monday, the Maoist courier Tarik and a Maoist cadre Rajuram Bhaskar brought the consignment in a pick-up vehicle from Raipur to Bacheli, but stopped at Basansur road. When they were about to deliver the consignment, the police team stormed the place.
However, Tarik and other Maoists managed to flee into the dense forests, but three of them, including Rajuram were nabbed, the officer said.

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Fluoride content in water high in 17 districts of Chhattisgarh
Raipur:MMNN:24 July 2015
Fluoride content in water is beyond permissible limit in nearly 17 out of Chhattisgarh’s 27 districts. However, the arsenic content is high in only one district, according to the data on water quality scenario provided by state’s Public Health Engineering Department during the ongoing Monsoon session of the Assembly. The districts having excessive water fluoride content are Gariyaband, Dhamtari, Mahasamund, Durg, Balod, Bemetara, Kabirdham, Bastar, Bijapur, Kanker, Kondagaon, Korba, Raigarh, Surguja, Balrampur, Surajpur and Koriya, while only in Rajnandgaon arsenic content is reported to be high.
“In these districts, out of 909 fluoride affected sources of water, Fluoride Removal Plants have been set up at 478 spots while 390 borewells have been closed down. Besides, the fluoride affected water of 39 hand pumps in Kondagaon district and two in Gariyaband are not being used for drinking purpose,” the data mentioned.
As of April 1, 2015, the department has set a target to provide clean drinking water in fluoride affected 78 hamlets and villages, it said. In Rajnandagon, 32 hand-pumps in 11 villages were closed down after detection of arsenic content beyond the permissible limit in ground water. Clean drinking water is being provided in the affected villages under ‘Nal Jal Yojna’ and others, it said.
Meanwhile, a geologist said high arsenic and fluoride content is a natural occurrence and is not a result of mining. “It has nothing to do with external source of contamination. Arsenic and fluoride concentration are high in water in those districts because of the nature of rocks found there,” Geology Professor Ninad Bodhankar, Pt Ravishankar Shukla University Raipur said.
“In earth science, we often consider occurrence of these minerals as good indicators. Like arsenic indicates gold deposits. There are reports of occurrence of gold in Kotri river which flows through Rajnandgaon,” he said. At the same time, he also pointed out that excessive consumption (for irrigation, mining and other purposes) of ground water leads to contamination of harmful minerals in it through rocks.
“We have seen displacement for construction of dams and setting up big projects, but the days are not far when we will have to re-settle people from these areas (where arsenic and fluoride content is high) for their better life and future,” Bodhankar said. However, he feels it is necessary to take precautions.
“We have to take precaution to prevent health hazards of high minerals’ content in water, like detection of safe zones for digging borewells and hand pumps are some of the steps to be taken up. A hydrological investigation is needed to deal with the situation,” he suggested.
Besides, a proper planning is needed on the part of government as mineral (harmful) removal plants have been installed, but they need proper timely maintenance. Even the people should be made aware of proper use of mineral removal plants so that they realise the importance of clean drinking water for their children and family, he said. The Central Ground Water Board and state government are jointly taking several steps in this direction, he added.

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Mild tremors felt in in Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh
Raipur:MMNN:24 July 2015
Mild tremors were felt at several places in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district on Thursday evening, with the epicentre of the quake being recorded in Maharashtra's Gondia district.
Panic-stricken people came out of their houses in Dongargadh, Ambagarh Chowki and Chhuriya areas, located 150-200 kms away from the state capital Raipur, adjoining Maharashtra.
"The low intensity tremors were felt in some parts of Rajnandgaon at around 8:06 PM. The epicenter of quake was at Gondia (Maharashtra)," Director, Raipur Meteorological Centre, ML Sahu said.
The magnitude of the tremor was measured 3.9 on Richter scale. The intensity upto 4.5 (on Richter) generally causes no major impact, he said. Meanwhile, the district administration has confirmed that no loss of life of property have been reported due to the quake.
No loss to human life or damage to property has been reported yet. However we have asked concerned officials to monitor the situation and stay alert, Rajnandgaon Collector Mukesh Bansal said.

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PDS scam: Tainted IAS officers divested of departments charge
Raipur:MMNN:22 July 2015
After Chhattisgarh government sanctioned prosecution of two IAS officers Dr Alok Shukla and Anil Tuteja, allegedly involved in multi-crore Public Distribution System (PDS) scam, the two were divested of their departmental charge- secretary, health and family welfare and director, panchayat respectively, on Tuesday.
In an order issued by chief secretary Vivek Dhand, both officers have been attached to the secretariat without any charge. Vikas Sheel, general administration department secretary has been posted as the new health, family welfare and medical education secretary while Surendra Kumar Jaiswal has been appointed as director, panchayat in place of Tuteja.
State government had accorded prosecution sanction against both the officers on Monday. They are facing charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
As reported in these columns, state government's announcement came just before the commencement of the monsoon session of Vidhan Sabha.
State's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which conducted raids and unearthed the PDS rice scam, had earlier sent notices to senior IAS officers Dr Alok Shukla and Anil Tuteja for their alleged role in it.

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Chhattisgarh Government Hospitals Facing Shortage of 1,000 Doctors
Raipur:MMNN:22 July 2015
Chhattisgarh government was facing a shortage of around 2,800 health personnel including 1,047 doctors, Health minister Ajay Chandkar informed the assembly today.
In a written reply to a question by Congress lawmaker Amit Jogi, the minister said, "155 community health centres and 790 primary health centres are operational in the state. These health centres have shortage of 1,047 doctors, 1,336 nursing staff, 207 laboratory technicians and 202 pharmacists."
Government frequently takes steps to fulfil the vacant posts of doctors, he said. "Earlier doctors were recruited through public service commission, but now the government has a relaxed recruitment policy and appointments are being made through administrative department," the reply added.
In tribal-dominated Bastar and Surguja divisions, district collectors have been given the power to appoint contractual doctors, the minister said. Similarly, doctors and nursing staff were also being outsourced in Bastar and Surguja regions, Mr Chandrakar said.
To another question by Mr Jogi, the minister said as many as 24 district hospitals are operational in the state, and of these only one district hospital does not have its own building.
"Only one district hospital lacks its own building whereas 13 hospitals have own buildings and 10 are operational in previously sanctioned buildings of civil hospitals and community health centre," the reply said.
"As many as nine community health centres, 121 primary health centres and 1,045 sub-health centres lack buildings while one community health centre, four primary health centres and 260 sub-health centres are functioning from rented building," the reply said.

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Hospital to be set up in Bastar to treat security personnel
Raipur:MMNN:20 July 2015
A super speciality hospital will be set up in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, since lack of medical facilities has often led to injured security personnel succumbing to their injuries, Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda said on Sunday.
"The Union Home Ministry has given us (Union Health Ministry) a proposal and land is being identified for the purpose," Nadda, who is on a one-day visit to the region, told reporters.
However, he did not elaborate about the proposal and said that progress is being made in the direction of either setting up or upgrading a hospital in the Bastar district. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh's cabinet had decided last month to build an ultra modern 100-bed hospital at Jagdalpur for police officials.
Informing about various health projects, the Union Minister said that a State Cancer Institute would be set up in Bilaspur at a cost of Rs 150 crore, out of which the Centre has approved Rs 120 crore, while rest of the amount would be borne by the Chhattisgarh government.
A Tertiary Cancer Care Centre would also be set up at Manendragarh in Koriya district with the assistance of South Eastern Coalfields Limited, he said.
"A demand was being made to set up a super specialty hospital in Raipur for which we have asked to submit a proposal (from the Chhattisgarh state government)," he said.
After Maoist incidents in the Bastar region, defence experts and health officials had said that there is an urgent need for life-saving medical facilities in areas where security forces are deployed.
They had maintained that casualties of security forces could have been brought down if they had been treated in time. Presently, all injured security personnel are airlifted to Raipur for treatment.
Sometimes, injured security personnel are rushed to the nearest Maharani Hospital in Jagdalpur (Bastar) but only for primary treatment.

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People from BPL families to be made computer literate
MMNN:20 July 2015
The Chhattisgarh Assemblys 12-day Monsoon Session, scheduled to commence tomorrow and incorporate nine sittings, is likely to be a turbulent affair.
The session is to witness passage of the Second Supplementary Budget. The principal opposition Congress has decided to place the ruling BJP in the dock over the Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (CSCSC) inconsistencies and other matters, including the remarks in the District Courts ruling, issued a couple of days earlier, vis--vis the Pre-Medical Test question paper leak.
In the wake of the judiciarys pungent comments, Congress is in a mood to adopt an aggressive stance, similar to the one on the CSCSC irregularities on this subject as well.
Congress, which is demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the CSCSC scam, paper leak and the tests conducted by the Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board,
has made it unambiguously clear that it reposes no confidence in the state Anti-Corruption Bureaus probe into the CSCSC inconsistencies.

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Chhattisgarh Naxals ask people to observe 'martyrdom week', plan to intensify activities
Raipur:MMNN:17 July 2015
In what could set alarm bells ringing for police in Chhattisgarh, particularly in Bastar, the Maoists are reportedly planning to intensify activities during the forthcoming "martyrdom week" when they pay tributes to their slain leaders.
The ultras for the first time this season put up pamphlets, banners and flags on Thursday, appealing to people to observe Maoist week - from July 28 to August 3 - in Saraipali region of Mahasamund district (adjoining Odisha) where Naxal activities have not been reported since a long time.
"We are well aware of the situation and prepared to thwart the violent design (during Maoist week) of ultras," said Additional Director General of Police (anti-Naxal operations) RK Vij.
Some pamphlets and banners were recovered near Saraipali (on Raipur-Odisha road) and investigation was on this connection, Vij said.
A senior state police official said cases of abduction of police jawans, informers and villagers have also increased in Bastar and adjoining places like Malkangiri (Odisha) and Telangana, giving an indication of the designs of Naxals ahead of the week-long celebrations.
"Security forces generally wait for monsoon as Maoists scale down their activities in the rainy season, but this time it appears rains too have not affected their activities. Security forces have stepped up their operation inside dense forests, defying flooding rivers and rivulets," the official said on condition of anonymity.
With the latest Maoist offensive claiming lives of four assistant constables who were abducted in Bijapur, the security forces have been alerted to be extra cautious during operations and even on personnel visits, he said. "The police jawans and officials have been asked to avoid roaming alone in the region," he said.
Notably, the assistant constables, recruited as auxiliary personnel, and police informers play an instrumental role in carrying out surgical operations at separate places in Bastar last month, leading to the killing of seven cadres and arrest of many others.
According to official statistics, as many as 11 police informers were killed till April this year in Chhattisgarh, which is highest number of killing of informers recorded in any state of the country.
Although the ultras' strength and base drastically weakened in the past one year, yet the security forces should not take the situation lightly during Maoist week, said Professor Girishkant Pandey, Head, Department of Defence Studies in Government Science College here.
During the martyrdom week, the ultras focus on recruiting heads in their military wing and conducting training in core forests, but keeping in view the situation of enhanced security operations they may alter their strategy, Pandey cautioned.

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People from BPL families to be made computer literate
Raipur:MMNN:17 July 2015
In a quest to create a 'Digital India', the people from down-trodden families in Chhattisgarh, particularly women, will soon be imparted the basic knowledge of computers under the Centre's e-literacy project.
"The initial target is to make digitally literate person each from one lakh below poverty line (BPL) families across the state under e-literacy project of the government," Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society's (CHiPS) Chief Executive Officer Saurabh Kumar told.
Nearly 54,000 people from BPL households have so far been identified for computer training under the project and 23,000 of them are pursuing the course, he said.
CHiPS is the nodal agency for implementing the centrally-funded project, started early this year, in the state.
"The objective of e-literacy project is to impart basic Information Communication and Technology (ICT) skills to people so that they can operate digital devices to take advantage of government e-schemes, like operate bank accounts, access scholarships, etc. Besides, operating emails and web browsing are other features of the training course," he said.
Most importantly, it will be a great help to people of rural areas where connectivity is available, to get various services online for which they earlier had to travel all the way to cities and visit various government offices, he said.
The women and differently-abled members of families are being preferred for the training as they generally stay at home, so that they can contribute digitally to their family while spending time at home, the CEO said.
Under this programme, eligible trainees from age 15-40 years will be subjected to a short duration computer course of 18 hours carried out by Common Service Centre (CSC) volunteers through tablets (electronic device) or computer, followed by a two-hour test, he said.
In rural areas, training is being given at home through tablets while trainees are being called up at Choice Centres (provides government services like caste certificates, domicile, Aadhar card and others to people at doorstep) to learn through computers, he added.
"Till now as many as 1,200 people have appeared in the examination and 850 have cleared it," he said. The target of training one lakh people will be accomplished by this year end and further more targets will be undertaken, Kumar added.

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Bodies of four police officials found in Chhattisgarh two days after Naxal abduction
Raipur:MMNN:15 July 2015
The bodies of four police officials, who were abducted on Monday by Naxals, were found on Wednesday in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district.
"Bodies of the four assistant constables have been found on a road near Gudma village under Kutru Police Station limits near the spot from where they were kidnapped by Naxals on Monday," Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela, told.
As per a senior police official, the rebels had killed all the four jawans by holding the so-called 'Jan Adalat' (peoples' court), near Gudma village last night.
The personnel were identified as Jaidev Yadav, Mangal Sodhi and Raju Tela, all posted at Kutru Police Station, while Rama Majji was attached to Bedre Police Station in the region. Soon after getting information of the bodies lying abandoned on the road that passes thorough a dense forested patch, security forces were rushed to the spot.
"The cause behind the death will be ascertained after the bodies will be taken to a nearby hospital," he said. Security forces have been directed to take necessary precautionary measures to ensure the Maoists do not get a chance to target them while retrieving the bodies, he said.
On 13 July, rebels had conducted a check of passenger buses and other vehicles en route to Kutru from Bijapur. Two of the jawans were travelling in a bus, while the other two were on a motorcycle from Bijapur town to Kutru when they were intercepted near Saknapalli village. Upon identifying them as police personnel, Naxals abducted them, the ASP said.
Later, reports of abduction of two 'Gopniya Sainiks' (secret informers), also of assistant constable rank, travelling in the same region were also received. However, they were reported to be safe, the officer added.
Bijapur's Kutru region is considered as one of the strongest bastions of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in Bastar region. During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, armed rebels had ambushed a polling party on April 12 near Ketulnar village and had killed six persons.

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Chhattisgarh gets heavy rains amid weak Southwest Monsoon
MMNN:15 July 2015
At the time when Southwest Monsoon is weak over rest of the country, parts of Chhattisgarh witnessed first heavy Monsoon showers in the month of July. In a span of 24 hours from 8:30 am on Monday, Jagdalpur recorded 64 mm of rain, followed by Pendra and Raipur at 21 mm.
According to Skymet Meteorology Division in India, a trough can be seen extending from Bihar up to coastal Andhra Pradesh across Jharkhand and Odisha. This weather system has given fairly widespread rain over several parts of the state.
As per the latest forecast, moderate rainfall will continue over Chhattisgarh during the next 24 hours as well.
Almost half of the July has passed away and the state has recorded mere 134 mm of rain, so far. It is still far behind its monthly average rainfall of 376.2 mm of rain.
However, with a fresh system brewing in Bay of Bengal, rains are expected to pick intensity substantially from July 18 onwards. With this, we are hopeful that the state will cover its monthly normal rainfall.
Despite less Monsoon activity, Chhattisgarh reported surplus rain of 17 per cent till July 13. The major contributor to this were the good spells of rain during June.
In June, the state had recorded whopping 258.3 mm of rain against the monthly normal rain of 182.5 mm. This activity was due to the depression which had developed over Bay of Bengal and later on moved inland through Chhattisgarh.

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Two CRPF personnel injured in IED blast set off by Naxals
Raipur:MMNN:13 July 2015
Two CRPF personnel, including an assistant sub-inspector, were on Monday injured in an IED blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district.
The explosion took place in Temelwada forests under Chintagufa Police Station limits while a ROP (Road Opening Party) of Central Reserve Police Force's 223rd battalion was carrying out its route clearing task on Dornapal-Chintagufa axis, a senior police official told.
As the CRPF personnel were cordoning off forests, 3 km away from Temelwada, the Naxals detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) blast at around 11 AM, leaving ASI Shiv Prasad and constable Pradeep injured, he said.
Subsequently, firing also broke out between the security personnel and the rebels which lasted for a short period following which Naxals fled into the forest, he said.
Soon after the incident, reinforcement was rushed to the spot and efforts were on to retrieve the injured personnel, he said.
"The condition of constable Pradeep was stated to be critical," he said.
A combing operation has been launched in the region to nab the attackers, he added.

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Maoists admit to killing their own leaders
Raipur:MMNN:13 July 2015
The outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) has owned up to killing two of its senior guerrillas in the restive Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
Four Maoist guerrillas active in Bastar were killed by their own party men in the last few days.
One Maoist leader has been “detained” and another Maoist leader managed to escape from the captivity of his own comrades and surrendered to the police.
“Our party held a people’s court which awarded death penalty to Badru [a DVC member of the Darbha area] and Hemla Bhagat [another Darbha DVC member and chief of Maoists’ military intelligence wing in the area]. Both of them have been killed for indulging in anti-people, anti-party activities. They were in contact with the police and were planning to kill some senior leaders of the party. They were also conspiring to surrender with weapons before the enemy [the police],” said Surinder, secretary of the Darbha Division of the CPI (Maoist), in a press statement on Sunday.
However, the statement did not mention anything about two other leaders — Hinge and Kosi — who have been killed by the rebels in the last week of June.
“The conspiracy [using Badru and Hemla Bhagat] was a part of police strategy to weaken the Maoist organisation. If they don’t stop such anti-people activities, we will be forced to intensify our reactionary activities,” warned Surinder and blamed senior police officers for the death of Badru and Bhagat.
Cautioning the people of Bastar against the “traitors” like Badru and Bhagat, Surinder claimed that the police and the government are spreading “lies” that the Maoists are killing their own cadres who want to leave the party and go home.
“Our party never executed any of its cadres who wanted to go home. We only punish those who indulge in treachery and damage our party and the movement. We appeal to the people to continue this struggle,” said the Maoist leader.

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Transit Naxal Camp Busted in Chhattisgarh; Explosive Material Recovered
Raipur:MMNN:10 July 2015
Security forces have busted a transit naxal camp following a fierce gun-battle with ultras and recovered a cache of materials used in making explosives in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kondagaon district, police said today.
"The skirmish between security personnel and rebels took place in restive Tuskal forests under Iragaon police station limits last evening," Kondgaoan Superintendent of Police J S Watti told PTI.
Two tiffin bombs, explosive materials, 15 detonators, electric wire, couple of camera flashes, naxal literatures, medicines and other naxal-related material besides commodities of daily use were recovered from the camping site of naxal following the encounter, the SP added.
A team of police was carrying out search operation in Iragaon and Dhanora region, located around 300 km away from the state capital yesterday.
On reaching Sawalwahi village, security personnel received a tip-off about gathering of a huge group of naxals in Tuskal forest following which they mobilised towards the place.
On sensing the presence of police near the spot, armed rebels opened indiscriminate firing on them following which they retaliated.
However, on finding jawans zeroing on them after intermittent firing of about half-an-hour, rebels escaped taking the advantage of rough terrain and dense forest, the SP said, adding that no harm to either side was reported in the incident.

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I can never forget those 3 months when I was raped daily
MMNN:10 July 2015
"I can never forget those dreadful three months of my life when I was raped almost daily and was even sold by my own cousin," said 23-year-old rape victim sitting at the office of NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) as she recalls her horror story.
Hailing from Chhattisgarh, she was brought to Gumla district in Jharkhand by her cousin on the pretext of touring Jashpur district last year. What looked like a fun-filled trip later turned out to be nightmare for her. From Gumla, her cousin sold her to one Rohit for money. She was raped and gangraped by Rohit and many other who also tortured her.
From blades, shoes to belts, her body has got several injuries reminding her of the horror. "I have forgotten the number of times I have been raped by him and his friends," she said while talking to Mail Today on Wednesday. The NGO that came to her rescue took her to the police station and helped her register an FIR. "What is disheartening that this girl has written a letter to every highest government authority possible, but none of them reverted. Very few survivors come forward to report such matters," said BBA project director Rakesh Sengar.
From Gumla, she was brought to Delhi and kept at a placement agency in Nihal Vihar where the accused used to rape and physically abuse her. Though she was kept in a placement agency but was never sent for any job. She stayed in Delhi for the first three months last year. "He told me that he will keep me for himself. He used to send me to houses for job and after getting the commission, he would take me back," she said. She alleged that every day, Rohit used to hit her and rape her and at times, his friend would also come along and commit the crime.
"They wanted to earn money from me. After a few months, my parents got hold of the cousin who had brought me to Gumla. Somehow, he informed Rohit and his friends. They threatened me that if I would tell anything to my parents, they will set my family ablaze," she told Mail Today. When they reached Chhattisgarh with her, they demanded `30,000 from her family before releasing her. Her father, who is a farmer, had to sell his farm and some of her mother's jewellery to get his daughter back.
"My family had to pay him to get me back and save me from getting raped repeatedly," she said. But this was not the happy ending. In 2015 again, Rohit and his friends kidnapped her when she was alone at her home. "They were running out of money and so they came again and kidnapped me," she said. This time, there was a different plan. "They wanted me to trap wealthy people and earn money. They had made a proper plan and took me to one house where I stayed and worked as a domestic worker. Later, they forced me to allege rape charges on him, which I refused," she said.
Finally, she managed to run away and reached her parents in Chhattisgarh. She also decided to file a complaint against the accused. She wrote a letter to chief ministers of Chhattisgarh and Delhi, National Commission for Women, Delhi Commission for Women and Delhi Police. "However, there was no response from any government agency," she rued. The victim is currently staying with the Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

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Lightning kills 3 in Chhattisgarh
Raipur:MMNN:8 July 2015
Three persons, including a woman, were killed and four others injured after being struck by lightning at a village in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district.
The victims were working in a paddy field in Dongardaha village under Tumla police station limits yesterday when the lightning struck them, a police official told.
All of them were sowing paddy in the field when it started raining heavily following which they ran towards a shed to take shelter.
At that time, the lightning struck, killing three of them on the spot and leaving four others injured, the official said.
Soon after the incident, other villagers rushed the injured to local hospital where they were undergoing treatment, he said.
The deceased were identified as Dharam Ram Bhagat (38), Rakesh Yadav (28) and Urmila Bhagat (22).
A case was registered in this connection, he said, adding that further probe was on.

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Bengal industries express interest to invest in Chhattisgarh food processing sector
MMNN:8 July 2015
Over half-a-dozen Kolkata-based companies had expressed interest to invest in the food processing sector in Chhattisgarh. A road show on promotion of food processing industries in Chhattisgarh was organised in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The event was jointly organised by Government of Chhattisgarh, state-run Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC), Indian Chamber of Commerce and Ernst & Young.
After the investors meets, seven to eight leading industrialists from West Bengal had a one to one meeting with Chhattisgarh officials to discuss about the investment plan, Sunil Mishra, Managing Director of CSIDC said.
The industrialists would be coming to Chhattisgarh to give final shape to the proposals, he added. Mishra said JVL Agro had proposed to setup maize processing and starch production plant while Elque & Co. expressed interest in pickle, chutney and fruit processing units especially in tamarind.
The Pheonix group had proposed to invest in food processing machineries manufacturing unit, Nice N Fresh sought support for IQF Plant for frozen "Food & Vegetables".

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PDS scam: Congress goes after BJP again; trains guns on Raman Singh
Raipur:MMNN:6 July 2015
After Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, it’s Chhattisgarh. The Congress appears in no mood to allow the BJP to breathe easy after successfully embarrassing Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Chauhan through a sustained aggressive campaign. The party has charged the involvement of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and his wife in the multi-thousand crore PDS scam which was in news several months ago.
“The scam, we believe, would go up to 1.5 lakh crore,” claimed Sahilesh Nitin Trivedi, the spokesperson for the state unit of the Congress. “We have started the process of collecting evidence to prove our charges,” said Trivedi.
He was referring to the campaign the party has undertaken in the last fortnight asking the district units to visit NAN (civil supplies corporation) godowns in their area and inspect the stocks. “We have decided to carry forward this campaign to its logical end and will not rest till the guilty of the scam are booked and punished,” he added.
The PDS story in Chhattisgarh goes back a long way. The state’s PDS was the BJP’s answer to UPA’s Food Security Act. Raman Singh’s two consecutive victories in the assembly elections were attributed to his 'efficient' PDS and it also earned him epithet 'chawalwale baba'. Now it turns out the story has many holes.
Raids by the state’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in March at the offices of NAN, the pivot of the PDS circus, and the recovery of cash worth Rs 4 crore in the drawers of the babus exposed the massive corruption in the scheme. The latter were caught in the process of distributing and forwarding the parcels of the 'monthly' shares to a list of names, believed to be that of the beneficiaries. The recovered diaries and pen drives included names of the top officials and politicians.
The principal secretary of the department and the managing directors, both officers from the IAS, were removed and prompt denials followed of involvement of politicians and other big wigs, including the wife of the chief minister. The investigation has been tardy since. The follow up action is not there.
“Deliberate attempts are being made to destroy or temper with the evidence,” says Umesh Patel, Congress MLA. “It is not a surprise that immediately after the recovery of diary and other evidences, attempts were started to cover up tracks to the chief minister’s residence.
The branch of the police conducting investigation is working under the same police officer whose integrity we had questioned after the massacre of the Congress leaders in Bastar in 2013.
The officer then had headed the police’s intelligence unit,” added Patel.

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Anti-Maoist drive? Chhattisgarh takes 'custody' of rural children
Surguja:MMNN:6 July 2015
The death of a four-year-old apparently due to hunger last month has led the Surguja administration to 'rescue' children between the age group of six and 18 from rural areas on the grounds that they are either orphans or not being looked after properly. Behind this seemingly laudable exercise, however, is the suspicion that the state is 'taking custody' randomly on the pretext of vulnerability so the children don't join Maoist ranks.
Scratch the surface and allegations of the ugly truth emerges – that the government is doing so in a manner that is arbitrary and without the most basic paperwork to ensure accountability. Moreover, cases are emerging of parents letting go off their children on the false promise of good food and good education.
On the face of it, the 'rescue operation' is aimed at vulnerable children whose parents or guardians are unable to take care of them. These include orphans being looked after by relatives, kids with single or mentally-challenged parents and those whose parents are in jail.
Dna investigations show that the local administration has already identified over 700 children in 398 villages and even taken away some. They are being handed over to NGOs for rehabilitation. In return, their illiterate parents or guardians are being given handwritten chits listing their names and a mobile number as the only proof that their children are being taken.
Investigations also reveal that several of children picked up had a father and mother, or either, alive. Some even belong to relatively better-off families, where their guardian, maybe a grandparent, is ready to take care of them.
In Mainpat village, for example, 40 km away from the district headquarters Ambikapur, the administration 'rescued' 10 children – nine boys and one girl – in just two days. These children were already going to their village school. But the district administration, it is learnt, was so desperate that some of the children were handed over to a Bal Grah (children's home) run by an NGO at 10.30 p.m.
According to Lalit Kumar Chaudhary and his wife Leela, government officials came to the village on May 24 and took away their sons – Ritesh (10) and Ritik (8) – on the pretext that they would be admitted to good school and hostel. "They just gave us a slip with a telephone number, saying we could call on this number whenever we wished to speak to our children,'' Lalit told dna.
In another case, Lovely (9) and her elder brother Inderjeet (14) were also rescued from the same village. Their grandmother Gangotri says, "The kids were crying and didn't want to go. But I told the kids to go for their betterment. However, they neither give proper food nor education to the kids." She said Lovely was sent to a Nari Niketan, where she was made to share a bed.
Some parents are complaining otherwise. Like Balmakun, a father of three, who lost his wife a few years ago and says he was never approached by the administration. "They took two sons of my neighbour but didn't ask me or considered my children," he said.
District Collector Ritu Sain refuses to admit that the kids are being chosen arbitrarily. "The officers must have felt that these kids need immediate attention so they must have taken them. The kids are being taken under the provisions of child in need for care and protection under child protection scheme and juvenile justice act," she said.
Maoist threat
Till 2013, according to the ministry of home affairs, only 14 districts were affected by left-wing extremism in Chhattisgarh. By 2015, this went up to 16, the two additions being Surguja and Mahasamund. Both these are also now being covered under the ministry's security-related expenditure (SRE) scheme to supplement the state government's efforts.
The union home ministry had earlier claimed that boys and girls between the ages of six to 12 are recruited by Maoist guerrillas into their specific children's units known as Bal Dasta and Bal Sangham in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. According to a UN report on 'Children and armed conflict' last year, at least 2,500 children are associated with armed groups in Maoist strongholds.
"In Naxalite recruitment campaigns, targeting poor communities, parents are forced to offer boys and girls to the armed groups under the threat of violence, including killing and torture. Similarly, children are reportedly threatened with the killing of family members should they escape or surrender to security forces," the UN report says.
An activist working in Maoist-affected region questions the move. On condition of anonymity she says, "When there are scores of such kids in cities, why is it that government is focusing only on rural areas? Primarily because the incidents of Maoists abducting kids happen in rural areas only. So the exercise could be to gauge the number of such rural kids too."
Not just Surguja
The incident of the four-year-old apparently due to hunger in Mainpat village of the district in May prompted the Surguja administration to map out vulnerable children and take their custody for rehabilitation and protection. But this was only a small part of a massive exercise across the state's rural areas.
In each of the 27 districts, surveys are being conducted in 195 panchayats under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme. Reports from over 10 districts, i.e. 1,950 panchayats, have been already submitted. According to it, about 1,000 children from each district are being categorised as vulnerable.
The agencies hired by the state government to conduct the survey include Swapnil Education Society, Octavo Solutions, PEWS and Mahila Mand.
A senior state government official said on the condition of anonymity that the data being collected by the department of women and child could be accessed by other departments too. "With the increasing incidents of child and sex trafficking and vulnerability of these kids to Naxalism, police and various other departments would surely access this information."
Besides, it will give an idea of the numbers of children involved. "There have already been incidents of Naxals abducting kids… With this exercise, identification would become easier."
"The state government is yet to receive all the reports. It's too early to give exact number of the vulnerable children in the state as the survey reports from over half the districts are yet to be received," said Archana Rana, joint director in the women and child development department of the Chhattisgarh government.
She added that surveying is just first phase of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme. Once it's completed, the state government will have figures. "Based on that, we will see what kind of interventions is required," Rana said.

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