The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Naxal menace: police fear post-1989 poll scenario

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Naxal menace: police fear post-1989 poll scenario

By S. Harpal Singh

ADILABAD, MAY 15. The Adilabad district police are not overtly bothered by changes in policy related to control of naxalism due to change in the State Government. Yet, they fear a recurrence of a post-1989 election scenario that would wash away their efforts in containing naxalite terror here.

Under the Telugu Desam Party government, the police had a free run of things in terms of men and material and devising locally applicable strategies to control extremism. Over the last three years, the police here have meticulously built a `do-gooder' image and basically gained in formation of strong information networks in naxal-dominated areas.

The results were tangible from the fact that while nearly 200 People's War cadre were operating at the beginning of year 2001, hardly 25 remain active at present. Most of the cadre either surrendered or were killed in exchanges of fire in this period.

After the 1989 elections when the Congress regained power, it had lifted the ban on the PW. This resulted in the PW regrouping and rearming itself and emerging stronger.

"It took the district police more than a decade to come to grips with the problem of naxalites. In case the ban is lifted or any such leeway given to naxalites now, things will return to square one," observed a police officer involved in control of extremism.

In July 2001, the district police launched a mass contact programme called `Police Mee Kosam' under which over 1,000 grama sabhas were conducted. Villagers, especially in tribal and naxal-infested areas, came out with their problems at these grama sabhas or village meetings.

Based on the feedback of these grama sabhas, the police donned the role of a facilitator and tried their hand at providing succour to the people. The police adopted about 25 villages for their all round development, conducted over a 100 free medical and health camps in remote areas, constructed roads and culverts, built drinking water facilities, facilitated running of RTC services to the most remote villages and rigging of power lines to even inaccessible villages.

The police were acclaimed when they facilitated heart operations for 10 children from Boath mandal in November 2003. At almost the same time the 12-km-long Gangapur road was started with active participation of the 12 hamlets of Gangapur gram panchayat. This road endered the Kadam police to villagers.

The State Government under TDP supported such efforts with contributions from departments like the Rural Water Supply and Panchayat Raj. Most of the resources for these programmes were raised by the police locally.

This period is considered golden period for the district because only three dalams remain on the run now. There were 18 PW units operating in the district at the start of 2001. The naxal movement is now restricted to the Mangi forests of Tiryani and the Chennur-Sirpur area while the rest of the district has been sanitised, as per the claims of the Police Department.

PW naxals were chased away in 25 villages as the police successfully mobilised public opinion against them. At Gangapur and Kadamba villages villagers beat up dreaded naxalites and snatched away their guns for interfering in village matters.

"We do not foresee any change in police so far as participating in welfare programmes is concerned. These efforts were not putting financial burden on the Government. We fear the naxals gaining time in the event of talks being held without preconditions. This will put us on back foot again," said another police officer.

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