The Hindu : New Delhi News : U.P. Police to hire choppers to patrol Naxal-hit areas

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U.P. Police to hire choppers to patrol Naxal-hit areas

Police vehicles are not able to reach some of the
Naxal-hit regions

Varanasi: To keep a close eye on Naxal activities in inaccessible areas, police has decided to rope in private helicopters to keep a check on them in Varanasi range.

Places like Chandoli, Sonbhadra and the area along the Bihar border are Naxal-hit. The decision to initiate aerial reconnaissance of these inaccessible areas was taken at a meeting held by the Inspector-General of Police (Varanasi range) Rajendra Pal Singh here over the weekend.

“Some of the Naxal-hit regions are so inaccessible that police vehicles are not able to reach those spots. There is always a life threat to the soldiers who try to enter such inhospitable regions, as Naxal attacks could come from anywhere. Therefore, we have taken a decision to use choppers to keep an eye on these regions. We will hire private helicopters for this exercise,” Mr. Singh said on Saturday.

“Allocation for patrolling the Naxal regions has been increased four-fold. Approximately Rs. 6.25 crore has been distributed in different regions for this purpose. We will also request the telecom companies to increase the number of towers for a better connectivity and communication for our staff during the patrolling. Satellite phones would also be used,” he said.

The police are also going to improve upon its image amongst the people residing in the Naxal-infested regions.

“We are going to focus on the community development in such areas. We will cooperate with the NGOs and other organisations working there. The youth in these regions would also be given training in computers and driving,” Mr. Singh said. – PTI

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