Naxal activities fully under control in UP: Adityanath

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that Naxal activities are fully under control in the state and the wheel of development is moving even in the areas affected by the menace.

Attending a meeting of the chief ministers of the Left Wing Extremism-affected states at Vigyan Bhawan here, he said the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district police are doing their job efficiently in Mirzapur, which shares boundary with Madhya Pradesh; Sonbhadra that shares boundaries with Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; and Chandauli bordering Bihar.

The meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and attended by Minister of State for Home Affairs G Krishna Reddy, Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and the chief ministers of LWE-affected states.

“The wheel of development is moving in Uttar Pradesh’s Naxalite affected areas and the Maoist activities are fully under control in Sonbhadra, Mirjapur and Chandauli,” Adityanath said at the meeting.

He said that the state is benefiting from the information exchange with bordering states.

“Youth in Naxalism-affected areas in the state are getting skill development training,” he said, adding that banks, ATMs and schools are opening in these areas.

Adityanath said that one company of the PAC is stationed in Mirzapur, while five companies, one platoon of the PAC and two companies of the CRPF are deployed in Sonbhadra. Two companies of the PAC and one company of the CRPF have also been deployed in Chandauli.

“District police along with these forces routinely undertake combing, searching and patrolling operations in Naxal-affected areas,” he said, adding that the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is also involved in action from time to time due to which Naxalite activities are under control.

The state government is closely monitoring the source points in Naxal-affected areas where there may be a possibility of raising funds for Naxalites, he said.

Many cases related to Naxalites in Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Chandauli are under consideration in courts and 38 accused are currently detained, he said.

Joint operations are done in the bordering areas, he said.

Police stations have been strengthened in Naxalite affected districts with the construction of three fortified police stations in Mirjapur, eight in Sonbhadra and four in Chandauli, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said.

Adityanath said that work on 6.75-km long road and a bridge (Chachikala Bridge) is going on in Sonbhadra, which will be completed by September 2020.

“Eklavya Model Residential School with 480 student capacity is under construction at Peepar Khad of Sonbhadra. Construction of the main building of ITI in Ghoraval tehsil of Sonbhadra is complete and youth are being trained there,” he said.

In Sonbhadra, 66 towers of state-run telecom service provider BSNL are functioning, while six each in Mirjapur and Chandauli. In the second phase, work will start to install 143 towers in Sonbhadra, 19 in Chandauli and 17 in Mirzapur after the approval of the Centre, the chief minister said.

“Out of 2180 gram panchayats of Sonbhadra, Mirjapur and Chandauli, 330 gram panchayats are in Naxalite affected areas. Banks are operational in 87 while ATM facilities are functional in 33 gram panchayats,” he said.

Recent Lok Sabha elections have been conducted smoothly, reflecting the state’s effective administrative and police system, Adityanath said, adding that the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi and Kumbh at Prayagraj were successfully organised.