Kartik Lokhande's blog

* This is what the students from Naxal-affected areas of Gadchiroli district felt when Gadchiroli Police took them on a tour of Maharashtra’s developed areas including far-western places like Mumbai and Pune and closer ones like Nagpur. The children who have been living in unstated fear and tension, found a new ray of hope in their life -- to grow up, to learn, to contribute in development of their area. ‘The Hitavada’ takes a look at the novel initiative and impact on students. By Kartik Lokhande Akshay Gawade, a student of Class VIII, had never visited a place bigger than Gadchiroli town. It was but obvious for him to get awe-struck when he stood before Gateway of India in Mumbai. A tall monument and vastness of sea behind it, triggered a big thought within for Akshay -- Development is Beautiful. Akshay is not alone sharing the sentiment. There are Dilip Atla, Sumitra Gota, Ashwini Sidam, Sanghmitra Terim, Mukesh Usendi, and so many others who have got the opportun...

* However, only 606 proposals for aid have got the approval of State Government so far Staff Reporter In Gadchiroli district, despite a reign of terror unleashed by the Left Wing Extremists, more and more number of villages have said ‘no’ to Naxalites/Maoists. As many as 710 villages have adopted a resolution saying ‘no’ to entry of Naxalites/Maoists. However, the State Government could approve promised financial assistance in only 606 cases. In the year 2003, State Government launched a novel scheme ‘Gaonbandi Yojana’. Under the scheme, villages passing a resolution saying ‘no’ to entry of the outlaws were eligible to get financial assistance from State Government. The idea was to reward the Gram Panchayats/villages for showing trust in Government and refusing to support Naxalites/Maoists. In the very first year, 112 villages participated in the scheme. The next year, the number increase and more 115 villages said ‘no’ to outlaws. However, the very next year, the number...

19-09-13 23 Maoists killed in Gadchiroli this year * 2013 proves to be the most successful year for cops, with maximum casualties of the Left Wing Extremists * Since 1980, a total of 130 Naxalites/Maoists have been killed in Gadchiroli district while the outlaws have killed 171 policemen and 433 civilians Staff Reporter If 2009 was the worst year for cops working in Gadchiroli district, 2013 has proven to be the best for them. In 2009, the Maoists had killed 52 policemen in different incidents. Come 2013, and the picture has changed. In the first eight-and-a-half months of this year, the cops have been successful in gunning down 23 Maoists, the highest such tally so far since the Left Wing Extremism started in Maharashtra. As per the data with Anti-Naxalite Operations (ANO), a total of 130 Naxalites/Maoists have been killed so far since 1980 in Gadchiroli, the district worst-affected by Left Wing Extremism in Maharashtra. The first reported encounter of a Naxalite in...

13-09-13 Gadchiroli cops take bold action, search house of Delhi varsity teacher over Maoist links * Cops seize hard disks, pen drives, laptop, CDs of which contents are being examined Staff Reporter In the first-of-its-kind bold action, Gadchiroli Police conducted a search operation at the residence of a Delhi University (DU) professor at his flat in Warden House in DU premises, over his links with Communist Party of India (Maoist). The cops seized computer hard disks, pen drives, laptop, and CDs with suspicious contents. Confirming the action, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Gadchiroli-Gondia Range) Ravindra Kadam told ‘The Hitavada’ that Gadchiroli Police had carried out the searches at the residence of Prof G N Saibaba, who teaches English at Ram Lal Anand College in South Delhi, on Thursday. The search was carried out by the cops armed with a search warrant issued by the court. The search was conducted in coordination with Delhi Police and some Intellig...

Rs 186.88 cr for new schemes under Human Devpt Mission * 1,375 anganwadi buildings, 375 health sub-centres, and 3,125 study rooms are to be constructed under three new schemes in 125 tehsils across the State * These tehsils include 60 from Vidarbha region Staff Reporter Here is a news that holds promise of giving a boost to rural development in backward areas of Vidarbha region. Planning Department has cleared three new schemes under Human Development Mission (HDM), which is being implemented in 125 tehsils across the State including 60 from Vidarbha region. HDM was launched in 25 tehsils of 12 districts. From the financial year 2011-12, it is being implemented in 125 tehsils of 22 districts. These include Buldhana, Akola, Washim, Amravati, Yavatmal, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, and Gadchiroli from Vidarbha region. For the purpose of implementation of the programme, Class ‘C’ municipal councils and rural areas of selected tehsils. Already, various schemes und...

News Analysis Where are you, human rights activists? By Kartik Lokhande Some time back, award-winning writer Arundhati Roy described Maoists as ‘Gandhians with guns’. It found echoes in pseudo-intellectual circles within India and in the outside world. It was not for the first time that such an echo was there to glorify, and to justify, the violent, subversive, and anti-national activities of Maoists. Every time when security forces kill a Maoist cadre or sympathiser, such pseudo-intellectuals and so-called human rights activists raise a cry of human rights violation. However, whenever any civilian or a representative of democratic political system of the country is killed brutally by the anti-national Maoists -- like in the ambush laid by the outlaws in which several Congress leaders and workers were killed on Saturday in Jeeram Ghati in Chhattisgarh -- the same pathetic bunch of Maoist supporters goes surprisingly missing. Probably, in such cases, it becomes too diffic...

4,956 habitations in State yet to get road connectivity Of these, 420 are from Vidarbha including as many as 321 in Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district  alone By Kartik Lokhande Maharashtra is a progressive state. It has got express-way, sea-link, broad roads to boast of. And, plans are afoot to have multiple-lane roads to connect major industrial and commercial cities. However, there are still 4,956 habitations across the State that have got no road connectivity, thus depriving the population there of the basic amenity. And, this figure is not derived by any of the activists. In fact, this is the authentic figure from the records of Government of Maharashtra. In a review meeting held recently at Nagpur immediately after winter session of State Legislature, this data came to fore. As per the data, of these 4,956 unconnected habitations, 401 have population up to 500, 608 have population between 300 and 399, 640 have population size between 250 and 299, 803 have...

Going to the banks of river Godavari. After going for two-three kms, my friend Satish Raut (Chief Photographer, The Hitavada, Nagpur) and myself reached the banks of Godavari with villagers from Asaralli in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra and later did a fantastic story on how Godavari was changing course and how the change in course of the river was leading to farmers losing precious agricultural land. (Photo courtesy: Satish Raut)