Jharkhand to get schools to counter Maoist uprising

Vijay Deo Jha | Ranchi

Saturday, March 6, 2010

The State Government finally woke up to the call of Maoist menace. Accepting that Naxal activities in Jharkhand have reached at an alarming level, Finance Minister Raghuwar Das unveiled modernisation plans of the State police forces in his Budget speech on Friday.

Announcing sanction of grants for opening of four new counter-insurgency schools in Netarhat, Padma, Musabani and Mandal, he said that the State was serious about forming a tribal battalion in Jharkhand. Das, in his Budget speech, announced to start a Civil Defense Training Institute to train people in the art of self-defense. The Government agreed to expand Nagrik Suraksha Samiti in Ranchi, East Singhbhum, Bokaro and Godda.

“The State Government has taken every step to ensure development of the area to win back youth, who have strayed away from the mainstream of the society. The Government is serious about tackling this issue,” Das said.

Das informed that the police personnel will be given special training in the coming days. In this context, he said that that the State was planning to construct training centres to impart training to State home guards.

Das said that the State intended to increase the coverage area of police stations and said that the Government wanted to increase the man-police ratio in Jharkhand. According to UN norms, man-police ratio in strife-torn areas should be 222 policemen for each one lakh population. In Jharkhand, this figure stands around 98 policemen for each one lakh population according to the reports.

Das informed that the State Government will encourage youth to join police force.