Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 15

Keeping in view the difficulties being faced in building physical infrastructure in Naxal-affected areas and insurgency-hit North-Eastern states, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is considering raising an engineering unit in the CRPF on the lines of the Army.To check incidents like the killing of 25 CRPF personnel deployed to protect road construction workers in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh in April, “we have proposed to raise an engineering unit within the force, which is engaged in anti-Left Wing Extremists and anti-insurgency operations”, a senior official said.“Naxal and insurgency-hit areas have long turned into a perpetual war zones. Heavy deployment of forces is a testimony to this. Lack of infrastructure in such areas does not only breed violent struggle, it also makes things difficult for the security forces and the civil administration,” he said. Fund worth crores have been sanctioned to improve infrastructure, but “so far we have failed to get the desired results”.

ITBP’s power vehicles

• For the first time in its over 50-year history, the ITBP is raising and deploying a mechanised column of power vehicles and machines to speedily mobilise troops along the Sino-India border in case of Chinese military transgressions
• An official said the column of the force will comprise over 250 SUVs, all-terrain vehicles, snow scooters and excavators PTI