In a first, the Chhattisgarh police deployed women commandos in a forested area of insurgency-hit Bijapur district to provide security for a bridge repair work.
The bridge, spanning a rivulet which flows into the Indravati river, had been damaged by Naxals 11 years ago. Its repair would benefit over 3,000 residents of four villages in the Bhairamgarh area.
"A squad of 30 women police personnel, trained in carrying out all types of anti-Maoist operations, was deployed at Tindori village to ensure security for the repair work," Deputy Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P told PTI.
The work was completed yesterday.
"It is the first time that such a task was accomplished by women commandos in Bastar," he said.
In 2006, Maoists damaged the bridge, severing the link between Tindori, Daler, Viriabhoomi and Aadwada villages and the rest of Bhairamgarh Development Block, 400 km from state capital Raipur.
Last month, the district authorities decided to get the bridge repaired under round-the-clock security.
Women commandos of Bijapur district police, inducted only last month for anti-Maoist operations after their training was over, joined their male counterparts in guarding the work, the DIG said.
Some surrendered women Naxals too are part of the women commando squad. They were recruited as they know the inhospitable terrain of Bastar very well, Sundarraj said.
Battling heavy rains, the women personnel set up their camps on the outskirts of Tindori and guarded the repair work for the last two weeks, he said.
Roads are being built in the Naxal-affected areas not for strategic purposes but primarily for the benefit of villagers, especially students who can go to the schools located away from villages and women who can visit hospitals, Sundarraj said.
According to police officials, recruitment of women in the police force also helps with intelligence-gathering, as they can communicate better with local women.
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