Anti-Naxal Ground Zero: Jawans fight in pathetic conditions

Chhattisgarh: The massacre of 76 jawans by Naxals in Chhattisgarh, the worst that the country has seen has thrown up many questions and one that is being asked is - Are our jawans fighting an unequal battle against the Naxals? NDTV travelled to ground zero in Dantewada and visited a CRPF camp in the area:

The idyllic Chintagufa forests, on the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border is where the CRPF jawans camp.

On April 4, over 80 men from the forest camp left to conduct an area domination operation to assert their presence in the terrain. The operation went horribly wrong and resulted in the death of 76 men.

About three to four kilometres from the base camp they met their gruesome end.

A large part of the story lies at that point. The vehicle which was sent in to bring back the injured to safety could not make it. A huge landmine blast triggered by the Maoist just ripped the vehicle to pieces. It has left a ditch which is as wide as seven to eight feet and five feet deep.  

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What was find in the ruins first was a notepad. With numbers scribbled in it, clearly in times when they used to be free, the jawans used to play bridge.

Villagers in the area, were the first to respond to the ambush.

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"Diwali is nothing. It was bigger than Diwali," said Ganesh Singh, a resident of Chintalnad village.

The villagers from around the area had rushed in with their tractors and buses, even cans of water for the jawans.

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Beyond a point, however, the firing was intense.

By the time they reached ground zero all they could do was pick up the dead.

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There is a huge amount of anger in the area. The people at the camp refuse to speak to the media because they think the media does not understand. The government, they say doesn't really care.

A lonely road connects the camp and to get drinking water the jawans have to walk 2-3 kilometres everyday, under heavy protection.

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There is no electricity supply except for a few hours at night and no mobile or radio connectivity.

After the massacre, the CRPF is using the air route to ferry in men and materials.

Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram said on Wednesday, "We have heard that angry voices of the people. Nevertheless, I would urge that even as we grieve we remain calm, we hold on our nerve, we don't stray, but pursue the carefully chosen cause that we have adopted."

The state's battle against Naxalism is now likely to get more intense.

But this is not just a battle for territory but for hearts and minds of the people in these remote, backward and almost forgotten regions, people the Naxals claim to be fighting for.