It’s no secret that the Maoist insurgency is taking control of most of the Indian tribal land, although slowly, steadily of course.
Despite the country’s prime minister and home ministry promising full-proof solution to the problem many times in the past many years, there is nothing in sight anywhere close for a man with head firmly placed on his shoulders.
The jaws of the demon named “Maoist rebellion” is leisurely eating the lives of the personnel from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), without anyone even taking a notice – “would be happy to be proved wrong.”
Not only the ever so efficient “guerilla tricks” adopted by these fighters, but even our bureaucracy is aiding them in their mission. How?
Our soldiers have been severely handicapped by the dearth of fundamental life saving gear, such as bulletproof helmets. Only 800 helmets are available against the approved 50,000.
A helmet is considered to be one of the most indispensible parts of a defence kit, for a solider fighting in mountains and thick jungles of regions such as Chattisgarh and Jharkhand.
The story titled “Just 800 helmets for 85,000 jawans” clearly points fingers against the inadequate number of life saving bullet proof helmets available with the CRPF personnel deployed in these areas.
After the gruesome March 3 attack at Sukma in Chhattisgarh, in which 15 security personnel, including 11 from the CRPF, were killed – most deaths were caused by bullets hitting the head – questions are being asked more vociferously about the preparedness of our forces.
Had there been adequate number of bullet proof helmets in store with the battalion, many priceless lives could have been saved undoubtedly.
It’s no secret that head of a solider is the most exposed region in a battle of ambush for the opposition fighters.
After the recent blood bath the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to procure more bullet-proof helmets for the CRPF men posted in the uprising hit areas.
It’s a standard norm with the defence forces that soldiers deployed in insurgency battered areas must be carrying high quality bulletproof gear including helmets, so as to arrest the number of causalities in such encounters.
Therefore, it can only be concluded that despite being in know of what’s required the most to save invaluable lives of our paramilitary soldiers, who are always susceptible to suicide attacks by the Maoists, our bureaucracy is sleeping comfortable in its lethargic nest with a blanket of red-tape on.
Around 90,000 personnel are serving in the Maoist hit red zone of the country. The number of security personnel killed between 2011 and 2013 was 371 in the states hit by the Maoist violence.
But, the buck doesn’t stop only with the bureaucracy, as the CRPF faces a financial crunch too, which doesn’t allow it to procure items that it requires the most to fight the Maoists and Naxals.
Nothing extraordinary should be expected of a force that only receives Rs. 20 crore out of Rs. 918 crore for 2012-13 and 2013-14 as a part of police modernization program as per latest official figures.
No comments:
Post a Comment