RAIPUR: In a rare occurrence, the residents of Manonar village in the Maoist-affected district of Narayanpur in south Chhattisgarh stood firmly in support of development and against the violence perpetrated by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and lodged a police complaint against the rebels.
The tribal inhabitants, including women, expressed strong resentment against the killing of supervisor Sandeep Jala and the thrashing of scores of labourers who were engaged in the construction of a bridge and road under the PMGSY in their area on Friday. The rebels also set on fire all the engaged vehicles and equipment.
“This is an indication of how the tribals of a village arrived on their own at the Chote-donger police station to lodge their grievances. The police have registered the case on their complaint. Villagers had categorically asserted that they are not ready to compromise any longer on the development that improves connectivity to their region and open the door for growth”, said U Uday Kiran, Narayanpur district police chief.
The villagers, who walked around 8 kilometres to reach the Chote-donger thana, had asked the police to ensure that the Maoists shouldn't be allowed to disturb development projects in and around their rural area.
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According to the Narayanpur police, the villagers can’t be a party to such a complaint that relates either to the killing of the construction company’s staff or the halting of the work. “Only the firms involved in the project can do so. But we have assured the people of our full support. We remained concerned over these villagers being harassed by the Maoists”, the SP said.
As the construction work stopped following the Maoists' violence, the local tribals were unhappy. The locals protested against the Naxalites and demanded to re-start the development works.
“The Maoists even attack and intimidate us. But we are now much aggrieved with their obstructive actions. The road construction will help our habitat with more facilities”, the villagers averred.
The locals though were not seen as much against the raised demands that they face from the rebels than the shattering of the scope of development owing to the left-wing extremists who are known to halt the project initiatives in their stronghold, the police officials said.