Security personnel at the Darbha camp in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-affected Bastar region.
Every morning, they assemble at the grounds of their camp before heading out into the inhospitable terrain of thick jungles, saddled with heavy equipment and uncertain of returning safely. To them, small things, like a good meal or simple entertainment are luxuries. This is life for the jawans of various security agencies involved in anti-Naxal operations in central India.
CRPF jawans stationed at the Darbha camp in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-affected Bastar region, cover about 12 km on foot through the jungles, carrying significant weight. "The bullet proof vest I am wearing weighs 12 to 13 kg and I am carrying a three to four kg weapon. Then, there are 3 to 4 liters of water. On an average, we carry 17 kgs of load. When we run out of water, we have water from ponds or whatever we can find. We fall ill because of it but that risk we have to take," says CRPF constable Vijendra Kumar.
In the past decade, an estimated 1000 security personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and state police have lost their lives in operations in the Naxal-affected areas. Many of the 20,000 personnel posted in this region say their job in the dense forests of the region is more difficult than duty on the border, because there it is clearer who the enemy is.
"At times, when we catch a Naxal, it's very difficult to prove he is one. They claim to be a villager and without any solid proof we cannot take any action. But we wear a uniform, so they are able to easily identify us," says constable Shyam Kumar Singh.
Even leisure is not easy in these forests. If and when they get time, the jawans play games like carrom, badminton or volley ball or catch up with the news or hum a Bollywood number. In such hostile territory, colleagues are family. But worries at home keep coming back.
Constable Mohammad Salim says his wife has been hospitalised for a week, and that she had been stressed on hearing on attacks by Naxals in the Dantewada region, as her husband has been posted there. To make matters worse, his phone had been switched off for days.
The jawans also take a pragmatic approach to food. It is rare that they get to sit together and have their meals, which they refuse to complain about. "It is not like home cooked food, but it is good given the conditions we live in," says constable Bastaram.