By Sujeet Kumar
RAIPUR, India, July 11, 2007 (Reuters) - The Maoist rebels who shot dead 24 Indian policemen in the jungles of central India disfigured several victims' heads with axe blows and stripped the corpses of shoes and socks, police witnesses said on Wednesday.Fresh details of Monday's grisly gunbattle in Chhattisgarh state emerged from policemen who had survived what they describe as a well-designed ambush by rebels armed with AK-47 automatic rifles and mortars inside a hilly, dense jungle."Initially Maoists had fired a few shots in the air and panicked all of us," a police commander who was part of the 115-strong unit told Reuters by telephone. He wanted his name withheld because he is not allowed to speak to the press."Then there was a brief silence and we all thought that the rebels had run away," he added. "But then all of a sudden they attacked with mortars and AK-47s."Some of the policemen knew the terrain and fled. The rest were trapped, the commander said. Police blame a lack of back-up forces for the number of police deaths that followed.The rebels, part of an insurgency which has claimed thousands of lives since the late 1960s, stole at least five AK-47 assault rifles and more than a dozen other rifles from the dead policemen, police said.Police said they had killed and injured several rebels but were unsure of numbers because the insurgents routinely carry away the bodies of dead comrades after battles.Combing operations were continuing in Dantewada district with larger back-up forces than before but no specific attempt to find the rebels involved in the fighting has been launched, said R.K. Vij, a senior police official in the area.Police were still struggling on Wednesday to identify some of the victims' disfigured and bullet-ridden bodies, carried back to base camp on bamboo and rope stretchers a day after they fell.The bodies would soon be returned to the families for funeral rites.The Maoist rebels, also known as Naxalites, say they are fighting for the rights of millions of poor peasants and landless labourers.They operate in a large swathe of India stretching from the east to some southern states, and focus their attacks on government officials and property.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Chhattisgarh stares at massive health threat - sickle cell anaemia
Sujeet Kumar
Raipur, Aug 26 2009, (IANS) Nearly three million people in Chhattisgarh are said to be suffering from sickle cell anaemia, a genetic disorder that can be life threatening. The state is now screening its entire population in the 3-15 age group to detect the disease early and step up awareness.
The Centre for Genetic Diseases and Molecular Biology, set up by the state government to control the disease, has launched the Chhattisgarh Sickle Cell Screening Project to take blood samples.
'Some 200,000 people have been screened in Raipur district so far and approximately 9-10 percent of the population has been found to be either sickle cell carriers or suffering from the disease. The carrier is basically a heterogeneous gene that has the potential to transmit the disease,' Pradeep Kumar Patra, in-charge of the centre, told IANS.
The government hopes that by screening the 3-15 age group, carriers as well as patients of the disease can be detected early and provided medical care and counselling. Sickle cell anaemia is an incurable disorder.
He said though the disorder is prevalent in all the 18 districts of the state, it is alarming in 10 of them that have a high population of certain Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities and tribes, among whom the disorder is very common.
'The problem in rural areas is that people are not much aware of the disease,' he remarked, adding, 'Chhattisgarh should be considered a 'nucleus' of the sickle cell disorder in India though it is prevalent in its neighbouring states - Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Andhra Pradesh.'
In Chhattisgarh, the disease has attained alarming proportions with more than 50 percent of affected children dying before the age of five and many others in the prime of their youth.
'Though we don't have actual data of patients suffering from sickle cell disease, the estimated figure is up to 15 percent or three million of the state's 20 million population,' S.M.M. Murthy, senior heath official with the Directorate of Health Services, told IANS.
Murthy, who is also the state nodal officer of the government's Sickle Cell Disorder Control Programme since it was launched in late 2004, said: 'Thousands of people in the state are succumbing to sickle cell anaemia annually because most of the patients who live in illiteracy-hit pockets are not turning up at health centres for blood tests and thus end up transmitting the disease to their children.'
A sickle cell patient, Pawan Kumar Sahu, 43, who works as office-secretary, Raipur Press Club, narrates, 'I feel extreme stress in veins, mainly in both legs, and it looks that someone has been inserting a needle hard in my veins, it really creates unbearable pain'.
'Neither of my parents had sickle cell disease nor do my two daughters have it. As far as family history of the disease is concerned, only one cousin suffered from it. I have to regularly get admitted to the hospital when the pain becomes intolerable.
'Last week I was discharged from a hospital, but the pain I felt during the period still haunts me'.
The sickle cell disorder is an inherited genetic lifelong blood disorder characterised by red blood cells assuming an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cell's flexibility and results in a risk of serious complications.
The sickling occurs because of a mutation in the haemoglobin gene. Life expectancy is substantially shortened among patients.
When sickle-shaped cells block small blood vessels, less blood can reach that part of the body. A tissue that does not receive normal blood flow eventually becomes damaged; this is what causes the complications of the sickle cell disease.
(Sujeet Kumar can be contacted at sujeet.k@ians.in)
Raipur, Aug 26 2009, (IANS) Nearly three million people in Chhattisgarh are said to be suffering from sickle cell anaemia, a genetic disorder that can be life threatening. The state is now screening its entire population in the 3-15 age group to detect the disease early and step up awareness.
The Centre for Genetic Diseases and Molecular Biology, set up by the state government to control the disease, has launched the Chhattisgarh Sickle Cell Screening Project to take blood samples.
'Some 200,000 people have been screened in Raipur district so far and approximately 9-10 percent of the population has been found to be either sickle cell carriers or suffering from the disease. The carrier is basically a heterogeneous gene that has the potential to transmit the disease,' Pradeep Kumar Patra, in-charge of the centre, told IANS.
The government hopes that by screening the 3-15 age group, carriers as well as patients of the disease can be detected early and provided medical care and counselling. Sickle cell anaemia is an incurable disorder.
He said though the disorder is prevalent in all the 18 districts of the state, it is alarming in 10 of them that have a high population of certain Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities and tribes, among whom the disorder is very common.
'The problem in rural areas is that people are not much aware of the disease,' he remarked, adding, 'Chhattisgarh should be considered a 'nucleus' of the sickle cell disorder in India though it is prevalent in its neighbouring states - Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Andhra Pradesh.'
In Chhattisgarh, the disease has attained alarming proportions with more than 50 percent of affected children dying before the age of five and many others in the prime of their youth.
'Though we don't have actual data of patients suffering from sickle cell disease, the estimated figure is up to 15 percent or three million of the state's 20 million population,' S.M.M. Murthy, senior heath official with the Directorate of Health Services, told IANS.
Murthy, who is also the state nodal officer of the government's Sickle Cell Disorder Control Programme since it was launched in late 2004, said: 'Thousands of people in the state are succumbing to sickle cell anaemia annually because most of the patients who live in illiteracy-hit pockets are not turning up at health centres for blood tests and thus end up transmitting the disease to their children.'
A sickle cell patient, Pawan Kumar Sahu, 43, who works as office-secretary, Raipur Press Club, narrates, 'I feel extreme stress in veins, mainly in both legs, and it looks that someone has been inserting a needle hard in my veins, it really creates unbearable pain'.
'Neither of my parents had sickle cell disease nor do my two daughters have it. As far as family history of the disease is concerned, only one cousin suffered from it. I have to regularly get admitted to the hospital when the pain becomes intolerable.
'Last week I was discharged from a hospital, but the pain I felt during the period still haunts me'.
The sickle cell disorder is an inherited genetic lifelong blood disorder characterised by red blood cells assuming an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cell's flexibility and results in a risk of serious complications.
The sickling occurs because of a mutation in the haemoglobin gene. Life expectancy is substantially shortened among patients.
When sickle-shaped cells block small blood vessels, less blood can reach that part of the body. A tissue that does not receive normal blood flow eventually becomes damaged; this is what causes the complications of the sickle cell disease.
(Sujeet Kumar can be contacted at sujeet.k@ians.in)
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
India Maoists extort $60 mln/yr in mineral-rich state
By Sujeet Kumar
RAIPUR, India, July 9 (Reuters) - India's Maoist rebels are extorting up to $60 million annually from business and industry across Chhattisgarh state, home of one of India's largest mineral reserves, the state's chief minister said on Thursday.
The Maoists have recently stepped up attacks against police, officials and civilians away from remote rural areas and closer to towns and cities across India -- a worry to potential investors as the country grapples with the global slowdown.
"Maoists extort a whopping sum of at least 250-300 crore rupees ($50-60 million) annually in Chhattisgarh," the state's chief minister, Raman Singh, told reporters.
State business leaders and politicians are jittery over Chhattisgarh, whose violence-wracked Bastar region is home to 20 percent of India's iron ore stocks and has attracted big hitters like Tata Steel (TISC.BO) and the Essar Group [ESRG.UL].
The extortion operation stretches from the state's southern tip near Bastar to the northern area of Surguja, which is rich with coal, he said.
The rebels demand cash from traders of Tendu patta, used to make hand-rolled cigarettes, mining firms, contractors and transporters, he said, adding many are scared to go to police.
The Maoists, who say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and the landless, feed off local resentment against industry and government in one of India's least developed states.
Businesses and politicians fear the mineral reserves in Bastar, where Tata Steel plans to build a steel plant, could fall into Maoist hands within a few years.
Steel is a key sector to India's economic growth, which has slowed to around 7 percent compared to 9 percent or more per year before the global financial crisis bit.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the Maoist army of 22,000 fighters is one of the greatest threats to India's internal security.
The rebels killed 721 people, including members of the security forces, in 2008, mainly in India's eastern and central states known as the "red corridor", up from 696 in 2007.
RAIPUR, India, July 9 (Reuters) - India's Maoist rebels are extorting up to $60 million annually from business and industry across Chhattisgarh state, home of one of India's largest mineral reserves, the state's chief minister said on Thursday.
The Maoists have recently stepped up attacks against police, officials and civilians away from remote rural areas and closer to towns and cities across India -- a worry to potential investors as the country grapples with the global slowdown.
"Maoists extort a whopping sum of at least 250-300 crore rupees ($50-60 million) annually in Chhattisgarh," the state's chief minister, Raman Singh, told reporters.
State business leaders and politicians are jittery over Chhattisgarh, whose violence-wracked Bastar region is home to 20 percent of India's iron ore stocks and has attracted big hitters like Tata Steel (TISC.BO) and the Essar Group [ESRG.UL].
The extortion operation stretches from the state's southern tip near Bastar to the northern area of Surguja, which is rich with coal, he said.
The rebels demand cash from traders of Tendu patta, used to make hand-rolled cigarettes, mining firms, contractors and transporters, he said, adding many are scared to go to police.
The Maoists, who say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and the landless, feed off local resentment against industry and government in one of India's least developed states.
Businesses and politicians fear the mineral reserves in Bastar, where Tata Steel plans to build a steel plant, could fall into Maoist hands within a few years.
Steel is a key sector to India's economic growth, which has slowed to around 7 percent compared to 9 percent or more per year before the global financial crisis bit.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the Maoist army of 22,000 fighters is one of the greatest threats to India's internal security.
The rebels killed 721 people, including members of the security forces, in 2008, mainly in India's eastern and central states known as the "red corridor", up from 696 in 2007.
Maoist militancy takes heavy toll on school education
By Sujeet Kumar
Dornapal (Chhattisgarh), Feb 17 (IANS) By bombing hundreds of schools since 2005, Maoist militants have taken a heavy toll on education in Chhattisgarh, officials say.
"Education and children's life have been severely hit in Bastar's interiors, militancy has virtually destroyed school education in vast areas where schools were either blown up or a majority of teachers refused to attend schools due to risks to their lives," Raja Toram, a teacher based in this small town in Dantewada district, some 500 km south of capital Raipur, told IANS.
The mineral-rich Bastar region spread over about 40,000 sq km in the south of the state has witnessed over 1,500 casualties in Maoist violence since 2005 and at least 440 school buildings have been bombed by Maoist rebels after the government started to use the buildings as temporary shelters for securitymen.
Officials estimate that Maoist militancy has denied at least 100,000 children access to primary education since 2005 in Bastar, especially after a government-backed controversial civil militia movement, Salwa Judum, started against the guerrillas in June 2005.
Bastar -- termed the nerve centre of Maoist militancy in India -- has five districts, Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Kanker. After the birth of Salwa Judum, a large number of troopers occupied the school buildings for anti-Maoist drives and the rebels retaliated by targeting schools.
School teacher Toram said that Maoists were making the most of children's lack of access to education by forcibly recruiting into their ranks those who had dropped out. The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has a children's unit called Bal Sangham.
Dantewada district Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said: "Militancy has surely affected education. Dozens of schools based in forest areas were blown off by militants though schools that come under the 'war zone' are being relocated to Salwa Judum base camps or areas where schools can be protected by forces. But attendance has dropped heavily."
Om Prakash, sub-divisional police officer at Dornapal -- an area which witnessed a string of deadly attacks by Maoists since 2005 -- remarked: "Children's life and their education have been really the worst hit since 2005; the primary school students are not enjoying education at relief camps under security cover as they earlier were in their villages."
He added: "The whole educational system in interiors has been devastated; Maoists are taking advantage of the situation and persuading parents to send their kids to Bal Sangham for which recruitment age starts at six."
The NGO Human Rights Watch released a book in July 2008, titled "Being Neutral Is Our Biggest Crime". It had two chapters - one called "Recruitment and Use of Children" and the other "Impact of the Conflict on Education".
The book says: "Naxalites (Maoists) usually enlist children between ages six and 12 into Bal Sanghams, the village level children's association where children learn Maoist ideology. Most children who are part of Bal Sanghams also work as informers and are trained in the use of non-lethal weapons such as sticks..."
"In some cases, Naxalites approach parents and pressure them to send their children to join the 'people's war'. In other cases, Naxalites visit schools and ask children to join them."
Quoting a former Maoist leader, Subha Atish, the book said: "They go to school and ask children to join a dalam (unit). This has happened in the Jagargonda area."
Jagargonda, in Dantewada district, is near Dornapal, where the state's most populous Salwa Judum camp houses over 10,000 residents who have fled their villages, plus a Central Reserve Police Force company to guard them.
Authorities deny that the presence of troopers is affecting studies. "At present, there are security forces staying in around 40 schools. Of them, 18 are schools where classes are going on at the same time. The other 22 are school buildings that had already been damaged after being bombed by Maoists and no classes could be held there any way," a Dantewada district official said.
(Sujeet Kumar can be contacted at sujeet.k@ians.in)
--Indo-Asian News Service
Dornapal (Chhattisgarh), Feb 17 (IANS) By bombing hundreds of schools since 2005, Maoist militants have taken a heavy toll on education in Chhattisgarh, officials say.
"Education and children's life have been severely hit in Bastar's interiors, militancy has virtually destroyed school education in vast areas where schools were either blown up or a majority of teachers refused to attend schools due to risks to their lives," Raja Toram, a teacher based in this small town in Dantewada district, some 500 km south of capital Raipur, told IANS.
The mineral-rich Bastar region spread over about 40,000 sq km in the south of the state has witnessed over 1,500 casualties in Maoist violence since 2005 and at least 440 school buildings have been bombed by Maoist rebels after the government started to use the buildings as temporary shelters for securitymen.
Officials estimate that Maoist militancy has denied at least 100,000 children access to primary education since 2005 in Bastar, especially after a government-backed controversial civil militia movement, Salwa Judum, started against the guerrillas in June 2005.
Bastar -- termed the nerve centre of Maoist militancy in India -- has five districts, Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur and Kanker. After the birth of Salwa Judum, a large number of troopers occupied the school buildings for anti-Maoist drives and the rebels retaliated by targeting schools.
School teacher Toram said that Maoists were making the most of children's lack of access to education by forcibly recruiting into their ranks those who had dropped out. The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has a children's unit called Bal Sangham.
Dantewada district Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra said: "Militancy has surely affected education. Dozens of schools based in forest areas were blown off by militants though schools that come under the 'war zone' are being relocated to Salwa Judum base camps or areas where schools can be protected by forces. But attendance has dropped heavily."
Om Prakash, sub-divisional police officer at Dornapal -- an area which witnessed a string of deadly attacks by Maoists since 2005 -- remarked: "Children's life and their education have been really the worst hit since 2005; the primary school students are not enjoying education at relief camps under security cover as they earlier were in their villages."
He added: "The whole educational system in interiors has been devastated; Maoists are taking advantage of the situation and persuading parents to send their kids to Bal Sangham for which recruitment age starts at six."
The NGO Human Rights Watch released a book in July 2008, titled "Being Neutral Is Our Biggest Crime". It had two chapters - one called "Recruitment and Use of Children" and the other "Impact of the Conflict on Education".
The book says: "Naxalites (Maoists) usually enlist children between ages six and 12 into Bal Sanghams, the village level children's association where children learn Maoist ideology. Most children who are part of Bal Sanghams also work as informers and are trained in the use of non-lethal weapons such as sticks..."
"In some cases, Naxalites approach parents and pressure them to send their children to join the 'people's war'. In other cases, Naxalites visit schools and ask children to join them."
Quoting a former Maoist leader, Subha Atish, the book said: "They go to school and ask children to join a dalam (unit). This has happened in the Jagargonda area."
Jagargonda, in Dantewada district, is near Dornapal, where the state's most populous Salwa Judum camp houses over 10,000 residents who have fled their villages, plus a Central Reserve Police Force company to guard them.
Authorities deny that the presence of troopers is affecting studies. "At present, there are security forces staying in around 40 schools. Of them, 18 are schools where classes are going on at the same time. The other 22 are school buildings that had already been damaged after being bombed by Maoists and no classes could be held there any way," a Dantewada district official said.
(Sujeet Kumar can be contacted at sujeet.k@ians.in)
--Indo-Asian News Service
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